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Arizona Department of
Corrections, Arizona
July 15, 2005 Tucson Citizen
Arizona legislators have made their philosophical point. And it is
costing you $11,000 a day. It was in 2003, when Arizona prisons
were badly crowded, that the Legislature decided to act. Called
into a special session to appropriate money for building cells for 4,200
inmates, the Legislature said it would do so only if at least 1,000 of
the new beds were in private prisons. Gov. Janet Napolitano and
Corrections Director Dora Schriro objected, saying there was no proof it
would be cheaper to send inmates to private facilities. But state
Sen. Bob Burns, R-Peoria and chairman of the Senate Appropriations
Committee, couldn't resist the private prison siren song: "To pass
up the opportunity of the private upfront money for construction to me
is not responsible fiscal management," he said back in 2003.
Well, now it's 2005 and that siren song has gone flat. Under
legislative mandate, the Department of Corrections contracted with
Correctional Services Corp. to build a 1,000-bed prison in Florence for
sex offenders. But here's the kicker: CSC will charge the state
$61 a day to house each inmate. The state could do it for $50 a day in a
state facility. The CSC bill works out to an extra $11,000 a day for
Arizona taxpayers - and an extra $4.1 million a year. So where is the
"responsible fiscal management" of which legislators boasted?
mCSC explains its higher cost by saying it will have an "innovative
rehabilitation program." We'll see. Because the vast majority
of inmates eventually are released back into society, rehabilitation is
an important part of operating a prison. Paying more for effective
rehabilitation may be worth it in the long run. But sex offenders are
among the most challenging inmates to rehabilitate. So CSC faces a
substantial challenge. Protecting the public from harm is one of
the major responsibilities of government. But have legislators done that
when they turn over the responsibility of incarcerating dangerous
inmates to a private, profit-driven company? Private prisons make
money by hiring fewer correctional officers and paying lower wages.
Private prisons also can fail to adequately meet inmates' needs, setting
the stage for escapes or disturbances inside prisons, while leaving the
state with little authority to correct mismanagement. At a CSC facility
in Texas, inmates rioted in January 2003 because, they said, they were
underfed. Arizona has a responsibility not only to its law-abiding
citizens, but also to its inmates to ensure they are properly, safely
and humanely cared for. And it has a responsibility to do so at the most
reasonable price. Instead of dictating the use of private prisons,
legislators should leave those decisions to the corrections
professionals.
Augusta Youth Development Campus, Georgia
March 30, 2005 Atlanta
Journal-Constitution
A former Juvenile justice manager has filed a
civil rights lawsuit against two top officials, alleging they forced him
to resign after he refused to destroy a memo citing problems at a youth
prison. Frank Berry filed suit Friday against Department of Juvenile
Justice Commissioner Albert Murray and Deputy Commissioner Thomas L.
Coleman. Berry ran mental health services for the department for nearly
three years. Seeking a jury trial and unspecified damages, Berry claims
that Coleman ordered him in February 2004 to destroy a memo he had
written, and that he refused. The memo cited mental health care
shortfalls at the Augusta Youth Development Campus, which housed
"the most vulnerable youth in our system," including some who
were prone to suicide. The department's previous commissioner, Orlando
Martinez, had put the troubled Augusta youth prison into the hands of a
private company. Unique Solutions. But then Youth Services International
of Sarasota, Fla., won the contract and was due to take over in February
2004. To ensure a smooth transition, Berry led an
all-day meeting at the youth prison with officials and staff from the
contractors and the Department of Juvenile Justice and uncovered
problems.
The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District
Court in Atlanta. It states that in March 2004, Murray asked Berry if he
had considered the consequences of his memo before drafting it and told
Berry, "I don't like to be embarrassed." Murray also told
Berry that if Murray were asked to destroy a document, he'd have two
choices: destroy it or resign. A week later, Berry received a letter
from Coleman. It informed him that his last day of employment would be
that April 15. Murray was copied on the letter. Berry resigned. The
February 2004 memo, which Berry wrote with another staff member,
concluded that a private company poised to take over the youth prison
wasn't prepared to manage it. It warned that the company's plans for
providing medical and psychological care were inadequate. Just
before the scheduled takeover, Murray abruptly closed the Augusta
facility after Unique Solutions protested the bidding process. The youth
prison reopened last November under state control.
A former juvenile justice manager says
top officials forced him to resign for refusing to destroy a memo that
cited shortfalls in mental health care at a youth prison. Frank
Berry, who ran mental health services for the Georgia Department of
Juvenile Justice for nearly three years, says Deputy Commissioner Thomas
Coleman told him in February to get rid of a memo that outlined Berry's
concerns about the Augusta Youth Development Campus. The memo
concluded that a private company, which was about to take over the
prison that houses the state's most disturbed youngsters, was unprepared
to manage a facility that "serves the most vulnerable youth in our
system." The memo -- co-written by Berry and Dr. Shawn Allen,
the agency's administrative psychiatrist -- warned that the company's
plans for providing medical and psychological care were
inadequate. "We were told to destroy the document by one of
the deputy commissioners and ultimately the commissioner," Berry
said. "I refused to destroy it. It would have been unethical
at best and illegal at worst." One year ago,
then-Commissioner Orlando Martinez put the troubled Augusta youth prison
into private hands after a GBI probe into allegations of sex and drug
sales between staff and inmates. Since August 2003, Unique Solutions ran
the youth prison. But in February, Youth Services International of
Sarasota, Fla., won the contract and was due to take over Feb. 15.
To ensure a smooth transition, Berry chaired an all-day meeting at the
facility with officials and staff from the contractors and the
Department of Juvenile Justice. According to Berry, he and Allen
left that meeting believing the contractor was not ready to take over
the facility. The company's staff had not been adequately trained, it
had retained only a part-time psychologist and it still lacked 24-hour
nursing care for emergencies -- all in violation of the contract, Berry
and Allen wrote in their memo. "These were the sickest kids
in the state, the kids who had significant mental health problems,"
Berry said. "We felt a strong obligation to the kids to report our
concerns about their care." Just before the scheduled
takeover in February, Murray abruptly closed the Augusta youth prison
after Unique Solutions protested the bidding process and threatened to
seek a temporary restraining order to stop Youth Services International
from taking over. The governor recently announced the Augusta
facility would reopen in the fall under state control. (Atlanta
Journal-Constitution, July 8, 2004)
Bill Clayton Detention Center, Littlefield, Texas
September 17, 2004 Star-Tribune
Four Texans have been jailed on charges of
assisting two Wyoming inmates in escaping from the Bill Clayton
Detention Center in Littlefield, Texas, last week. Three of the Texans
worked as guards at the prison, Littlefield Police Chief Bill McMinn
said.
Arrested and
charged with permitting and facilitating the escape of a convicted felon
were Roy Sosa and Yvonne Delagarza, who both worked as guards at the
detention center. They were being held in the Lamb County Jail on
$50,000 bond each and face two to 20 years in prison if convicted.
Delagarza's brother, Robert Sandoval, and Tammy Harper, another prison
guard, also have been charged in the incident with hindering the
apprehension of a felon, a crime that carries a one- to 10-year prison
sentence. They were also in jail on $50,000 bonds. McMinn said the
motive for the escape appears to be that the women guards, Harper and
Delagarza, were in love with the inmates.
September 16, 2004 Houston
Chronicle
Four of the five federal inmates who escaped from a Frio County private
prison last month remained at large Thursday, but officials said they've
nabbed two people who helped the escapees vanish into a protective
underworld of prison-gang sympathizers. Held on charges of instigating
or aiding a federal escape are Randy Folsom, 42, and Debra Ayala, 44,
both of San Antonio. U.S. Marshals Service officials, who arrested them
Wednesday, said Folsom drove as many as four of the "Frio
Five" escapees from the Pearsall lockup Aug. 6. The five inmates
exited the private prison in daylight through cuts in the chain-link
fencing of the recreation yard. Investigators
also are trying to determine whether prison personnel aided in the
escape.
September 11, 2004 Casper
Star Tribune
Two Wyoming inmates were back in custody Friday, after escaping from a
Texas detention center the night before. Michael Solis and Jeremiah
Zupko apparently cut through a fence to escape from the Bill Clayton
Detention Center in Littlefield, Texas.
September 10, 2004 KCDB
Littlefield police arrested five people
involved in a prison break at the Bill Clayton Detention Center, a
private facility in Littlefield. So far, their investigation has led
them to believe two female prison guards, Iyvonne Delagarza and Tammy
Harper, may be involved. Janet Simmons' daughter works at the prison
with one of the women who is suspected. At around 9:30 Thursday night,
35-year-old Michael Solis and 22-year-old Jeremiah Zupko cut their way
through two layers of fence and razor wire using some kind of cutting
tool. Police say they are investigating how the inmates got the tool.
Police have not figured out a motive for the prison break and why these
two female guards would have reason to help them. The
inmates initially were serving time for selling methemphetamines and
heroin in Wyoming.
Charles H. Hickey Jr. School, Towson, Maryland
November 29, 2005 Baltimore Sun
As Maryland prepares to close most of the Charles H. Hickey Jr. School
this week, it has developed a backlog of tough young offenders who are
being held for weeks in juvenile jails while state officials struggle to
find places to put them. Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. announced in June
that 144 residential beds at Hickey would close by tomorrow. Half of
those beds have been used for the most dangerous juvenile offenders,
those who have committed such crimes as attempted murder, carjacking,
armed robbery and assault. A jail and a sex offender treatment program
are to remain open indefinitely at Hickey until replacement facilities
can be built elsewhere. Advocates, legislators and others have long
called for Hickey to be shut down. The reform school in Baltimore County
has long been criticized by state and federal regulators for what they
call a violent, dilapidated environment that often failed to
rehabilitate youngsters. Ehrlich has drawn fire from judges,
legislators, advocates and others for closing Hickey before alternative
programs were developed in Maryland.
March 29, 2005 Baltimore Sun
A former social worker with the public defender's office who said she
was raped by a 15-year-old boy she was visiting at the Charles H. Hickey
Jr. School settled a civil lawsuit yesterday against the corporations
that ran the juvenile detention center. Amy Bibighaus, 29, will receive
$125,000 from the companies that ran the juvenile detention center in
Baltimore County, lawyers on both sides of the case said yesterday.
While acknowledging that the settlement was far less than the $20
million they had sought in the civil suit, an attorney for Bibighaus
characterized the resolution as "a complete vindication" for
the social worker, who also was acquitted in 2002 by a Baltimore County
judge after being charged with statutory rape for the incident involving
the juvenile detainee. "I think for her, the idea was to be
vindicated, for them to say, 'Yes, we were responsible for what happened
to you.' And I think that happened," said Anton L. Iamele, who
represented Bibighaus. Youth Services International ran the troubled
Hickey School for nearly 11 years until the state decided not to renew
its $16 million-a-year contract last March. After assuming control of
the juvenile detention center in Cub Hill, state officials found it to
be an out-of-control operation where housing units reeked of urine,
walls were covered in graffiti and locks didn't work on the doors of the
rooms of dozens of potentially dangerous offenders. The lawsuit alleged
that the teenager propositioned Bibighaus after asking the attorney who
accompanied her to the meeting to leave the room so he could speak with
the social worker alone. He then raped her, according to the lawsuit.
When Bibighaus tried to leave the small office, a malfunctioning lock
prevented her from being able to escape, and the absence of attentive
Hickey staff members kept anyone from quickly discovering the attack,
the lawsuit alleged.
The school, which houses 188 juvenile
offenders, has been beset by violence, including abuse by staff. Recent
incidents there have included a fight in February involving four
teen-agers and a staff member that sent two youths to a hospital.
The same month, The Sun reported that a Hickey youth was assaulted by
two staff members who held him in his room and repeatedly punched him in
the face. When it took over in April, the state asked all those
employed at the facility to re-apply for their jobs, and it began
screening all 320 of them. It soon learned that the contractor -
Florida-based Correctional Services Corp./Youth Services International -
had hired workers the state considers unfit. "It's my
understanding there were people here who would not have passed
background checks," said former Baltimore police officer Joseph
Newman, a Department of Juvenile Services consultant. After a
civil rights investigation, the U.S. Justice Department said in a report
last month that it believed workers with felony convictions and
histories of using excessive force were being hired at Hickey and the
Cheltenham Youth Facility, another state-run detention center, in Prince
George's County. "Notably, we found several instances where
we believe that staff with either felony convictions or previous
histories of excessive force in a juvenile detention facility were
involved in incidents of abuse," the department said in the report
to the state last month. The state pays entry-level youth
supervisors between $20,000 and $25,000 - significantly less than their
counterparts in surrounding states. At Hickey, the staff had been
earning even less under the private contractor - a little more than
$19,000, Adams said. When it took over, the state found other
problems at Hickey besides the staff. In one dormitory, 24 of 30 locks
on residents' doors were broken, Newman said. Many of the
buildings were dirty and had graffiti. (Baltimore Sun, May 8,
2004)
All juvenile and adult correctional
facilities must follow Americans with Disabilities Act guidelines and
supply hearing aids and interpreters for inmates with hearing
impairments so they can attend educational and rehabilitative programs,
according to a series of settlement agreements agreed to by the
Department of Justice. The DOJ issued the orders through
settlement agreements with the District of Columbia Department of
Corrections, the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services, Youth
Services International Inc. and Correctional Services Corp. in Sarasota,
Fla. The juvenile complaint was filed after a juvenile was sent to
a YSI/CSC facility contracted by MDJS. The facility failed to provide
him with an interpreter for five months. (The Special Educator,
May 4, 2004)
With blistering language but only a
mild threat of further legal action, the U.S. Justice Department has
concluded that the violent conditions and substandard care at two
Maryland juvenile detention centers are substantially violating the
constitutional civil rights of the youths confined there. The
results of the department's 20-month investigation were made public
yesterday in a 51-page letter, which details brutal conditions inside
the Charles H. Hickey Jr. School in Baltimore County and Cheltenham
Youth Facility in Prince George's County. "In
particular," the letter stated, "we find that children
confined at Cheltenham and Hickey suffer harm or the risk of harm from
constitutional deficiencies in the facilities' confinement practices,
suicide prevention measures, mental health and medical care services,
and fire safety. In addition, the facilities fail to provide required
education services." The monitor's most recent quarterly
report, issued late last month, concluded that most of the problems
outlined in the past had yet to be adequately addressed. It said that
assaults had continued at Hickey at the rate of 2.5 a day through the
last quarter of 2003. The state is now running both facilities,
although up until March 31 the Hickey School had been managed for the
past 11 years by a private contractor, Youth Service International,
which since 1999 has been a subsidiary of Correctional Services
Corporation, based in Florida. The investigation also faulted poor
training for staff and said that staff members often failed to report
serious incidents. It also faulted poor security in Hickey's
dormitories, saying that "youth are not sufficiently supervised,
allowing them to tamper with locking mechanisms on youth room doors,
disable the locks, and enter other youth rooms to assault one
another." (Baltimore Sun, April 17, 2004)
The General Assembly approved an
extensive but slow makeover of Maryland's juvenile justice system
yesterday, in hopes of emulating a lengthy reform effort in Missouri
that has lowered recidivism even while cutting costs. At the heart of
the proposal are plans to eventually shrink or close the state's big
detention centers, which have been beset for decades by abuse,
mismanagement and a legacy of housing repeat offenders. Those
facilities, such as the Charles H. Hickey Jr. School, a detention center
in Baltimore County now housing 260 youths, would have to be no larger
than 48 beds, as would all state treatment centers for troubled youths.
In addition, the state would run all the facilities itself. The Hickey
School has been run by private, for-profit contractors for most of the
past 13 years. As if to illustrate the dire conditions now facing
the system, two teens who were housed at the Hickey School last year
filed suit last week in Baltimore County Circuit Court against the
Department of Juvenile Services and Hickey's former manager, the Youth
Services International subsidiary of Correctional Services
Corporation. Seeking $50 million in damages, the suit alleges that
staffers beat the youths off and on throughout April 2003, and
threatened to kill their families if they "snitched." One
staffer allegedly repeatedly slammed a 13-year-old's head into the wall
because the teen had told another to report abuse. (Baltimore Sun,
April 12, 2004)
A fight yesterday involving four
teen-agers and a staff member at the Charles H. Hickey Jr. School sent
two youths to the hospital, just as state police were beginning efforts
to bolster security at the troubled juvenile detention center. The
confluence of events put state Juvenile Services Department officials in
the awkward position of promoting a new security initiative one moment
only to have to explain yet another outbreak of violence the next. And
it occurred amid growing criticism that disorder in the detention
centers has reached critical levels. "I think the point has been
made that circumstances at these facilities need improvement,"
Juvenile Services Secretary Kenneth C. Montague Jr. said. (Baltimore
Sun, February 24, 2004)
A youth in state custody at the Charles H. Hickey School in Baltimore
County was assaulted last month by two staff members who held him in his
room and repeatedly punched him in the face, according to police
records. One of the staff members offered the victim's roommate, who
witnessed the incident, free telephone calls and a CD player to keep
quiet about the beating, the roommate told police. It is the second case
to come to light in the past week in which staff have been criminally
charged with assaulting a youth at a state-owned juvenile detention
center. In the other incident, at the Cheltenham Youth Facility in
Prince George's County, four workers were charged with holding down a
17-year-old and striking him on Nov. 30. In a third case, a 16-year-old
boy at the Baltimore City Juvenile Justice Center was severely beaten
last month by five other youths. None of the incidents was disclosed by
the state Department of Juvenile Services until word began to leak out
from police or others. The department acknowledged the Hickey case
yesterday only after The Sun learned about it from other sources.
Juvenile Services officials contend that they are not obliged to alert
the public to such incidents but will reply to queries if the cases
become known. (Baltimore Sun, February 20, 2004)
The Charles H. Hickey Jr. School continues to be beset by violence, some
of it perpetrated by staff, and conditions have not improved since a
scathing report in May detailed 20 cases of child abuse and neglect at
the juvenile detention facility, according to the state independent
monitor. With the number of assaults and other violent incidents showing
no signs of abating, the Office of the Independent Juvenile Justice
Monitor recommended in September that the state consider firing the
private contractor that operates Hickey, according to documents obtained
by The Sun under a public records request. (The Baltimore Sun, December
19, 2003)
Cold Springs Correctional Facility (Mansfield Boot Camp), Fort Worth, Texas
October 22, 2005 Sarasota Herald Tribune
Correctional Services Corp. has settled a $38.3 million judgment that
held the company responsible for the death of an 18-year-old inmate at a
Texas boot camp. Terms of the agreement are confidential, but the
Sarasota-based prison manager said Friday it will pay $2.7 million
toward the settlement. The rest will be covered by CSC's liability
insurers, which initially balked at paying the award. The agreement is
contingent on the closing of CSC's previously announced sale to The GEO
Group Inc. for $62 million. CSC shareholders will vote on the sale Nov.
4. If that deal falls through, so does the settlement. A Texas jury in
August 2003 found CSC and a nurse at the now-closed Mansfield boot camp
responsible for the death of Bryan D. Alexander. Alexander, serving a
six-month sentence for a misdemeanor driving conviction, died in 2001 of
a rare penicillin-resistant form of pneumonia. Trial testimony showed he
was treated for a cold and flu even though he had coughed up blood for
five days before his death. His parents sued CSC and nurse Knyvett Reyes
for their loss and anguish. Reyes was convicted of negligent homicide
and was sentenced to four years of community supervision. She also
surrendered her registered nurse's license. The judgment against CSC and
Reyes included $35 million in actual damages, $750,000 in punitive
damages and more than $2.4 million in interest. The settlement will
resolve all claims and lawsuits against CSC and Reyes. It also will end
a dispute between CSC and its liability insurers over who should pay.
Boca Raton-based GEO is paying $62 million in cash, or $6 a share, and
assuming $124 million in liabilities to acquire CSC. It will then sell
the Youth Services International subsidiary to CSC president James
Slattery for $3.75 million. That unit manages programs at 17 centers
with 1,300 beds. GEO will acquire the adult division that owns or
operates 15 facilities with 7,500 beds. GEO manages 41 prisons and jails
with 36,000 beds in the United States, Australia, South Africa and
Canada. Shares of CSC were selling for $5.91 on the Nasdaq at the close
of trading Friday, up 1 cent.
October 22, 2005 NEWS8 Austin
The corporate parent of a now-defunct Mansfield detention facility has
reached an out-of-court settlement with the family of a teenager who
died while serving time at its boot camp. Correctional Services Corp.
announced the settlement yesterday with the family of Bryan Alexander.
The 18-year-old died in 2001 while serving a six-month sentence for a
drunken-driving arrest. Alexander's family was awarded nearly $40
million in damages by a Tarrant County jury in 2003. But the details of
Friday's settlement have not been released. Under the agreement, the
boy's family will not file any new suits or pursue appeals against
Tarrant County or its criminal-court judges. The boy's parents sued the
company and camp nurse after he died from penicillin-resistant
pneumonia. Although the teen complained of weakness and was coughing up
blood, the camp had waited several days before taking him to a hospital.
The suit claimed the camp and nurse failed to provide the teen with
adequate and timely medical care.
September 30, 2005 Star-Telegram
U.S. District Court Judge Terry Means on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit against
Tarrant County and its criminal court judges over the death of a teen-ager who
was serving a sentence at the former Mansfield boot camp four years ago. Means
left the door open for attorneys representing the family of Bryan Alexander to
sue the judges in state court. A lawsuit against the county has been thrown out
of state court. Alexander, 18, died in January 2001 while serving a six-month
sentence for drunken driving. While at the camp, he complained of feeling weak
and coughing up blood. Days later, he was taken to John Peter Smith Hospital,
where he was immediately put into intensive care. He died two days later. Tests
indicated that he had a rare, penicillin-resistant form of pneumonia. In the
federal lawsuit, Alexander's family said the county, and the judges
individually, should be held liable because they didn't properly monitor
Correctional Services Corp., the company contracted to run the camp. A year ago,
Means denied the judges judicial immunity, saying they were acting not as judges
but as managers of the facility. But in his ruling Wednesday, Means said public
officials do enjoy immunity from lawsuits for damages providing that their
conduct does not clearly violate an individual's rights.
February 10, 2005 Star Telegram
Several Tarrant County judges sued over a death at the
defunct boot camp are being accused of unethical behavior for considering
cases involving the attorneys who are suing them. Defense attorneys Charlie
Smith and Bill Lane say that state district judges Sharen Wilson and George
Gallagher have decided
that they will not automatically
transfer those cases to other courts. Since January 2003,
the judges have routinely transferred cases handled by Smith and Lane to other
courts after the attorneys filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against them and
the county. In the federal lawsuit, the attorneys say that sloppy oversight by
the judges allowed an array of problems to continue at the former Mansfield boot
camp, where 18-year-old inmate Bryan Alexander died. Lane and Smith are among
several attorneys representing the Alexander family. U.S. District Judge Terry
Means ruled in August that the judges can be held liable individually, along
with the county, because they were acting as managers of the facility operated
by Correctional Services Corp. Smith filed a motion to remove Wilson from
hearing a felony theft case on Tuesday. In the filing, he described the judge's
decision to deny a transfer as "clear evidence" of hostility toward
him. Denying Smith's motion "creates a reasonable doubt as to Judge Sharen
Wilson's capacity to act impartially as a judge in connection with this
case," court documents state.
August 27, 2004
Tarrant County's criminal court judges are not protected by judicial immunity in
a civil rights lawsuit stemming from the death of a teen-ager at the former
Mansfield boot camp, a federal judge ruled. U.S. District Court Judge
Terry Means said the judges can be held liable individually, along with the
county, because they were acting not as judges, but as managers of the facility
operated by Correctional Services Corp. The judges helped establish the
budgets and approved the selection of the private prison operator "in spite
of a significant history of operational deficiencies," attorneys for the
teen-ager's family have argued. "The court concludes that the defendant
judges are not entitled to judicial immunity," Means wrote this week.
"It's huge," Mark Haney, the family's attorney, said of Means' ruling.
"The judges can be held personally accountable for establishing policies
and procedures ... that routinely denied access to medical care to the
detainees." In July, Means denied a claim by Northland Insurance Co.,
CSC's insurance carrier, stating that its policies do not cover the judgment
against them. (Star-Telegram)
December 3, 2003
Visiting State District Judge Roger Towery has ruled that Sarasota, Fla.-based
Correctional Services Corp. must pay a $38 million judgment that was awarded
earlier this summer to the parents of a young man who died at a Mansfield, Tex.,
boot camp in 2001. In August, a jury in Fort Worth's 236th District Court
awarded the family of Bryan Alexander $35 million in actual damages and $5.1
million in punitive damages following an eight-week trial. Alexander died
from a penicillin-resistant form of pneumonia he contracted while participating
in a six-month boot camp program as a condition of his misdemeanor probation.
Evidence in the case showed that Alexander, who was 18 years old, died after CSC
employees ignored his pleas for medical attention for days. In September,
Judge Towery set the actual damages at $37.4 million, including interest, and
reduced the punitive damages to $750,000. CSC responded by asking the court to
reduce or set aside the entire judgment, arguing that there was "no legally
or factually sufficient evidence to support the jury's findings." CSC
President James Slattery told CSC investors during a recent conference call that
the company expected the court to reduce the $38 million judgment. In his ruling
issued yesterday, the judge denied all of CSC's motions. "We are
pleased that once again the jury's verdict in this case has been upheld,"
says attorney Jeff Kobs, a partner in Fort Worth's Kobs & Haney, who
represented the Alexander family along with Fort Worth attorney Bill Lane.
"We are confident that the Courts will continue to deny CSC's repeated
attacks on the jury's decision." As a result of this ruling, CSC has
until Dec. 16, 2003, to file its notice of appeal, and the company must also
post a $25 million bond by Dec. 28, 2003, in order to prevent the Alexander
family from attempting to collect the judgment amount. Interest has been
accruing at a rate of $5,250 per day since the original judgment was entered in
September. In a related federal court action, CSC's insurance carrier,
Northland Insurance Co., is seeking a declaration that its policies do not cover
the $38 million judgment. CSC is arguing that the Northland policies should
cover the judgment amount, and that Northland acted improperly in failing to
settle the claims prior to the jury's verdict. For more information on the
court's ruling, please contact attorney Jeff Kobs at 817.332.5956, attorney Bill
Lane at 817.625.5570, or Bruce Vincent at 214.559.4630 or pager
888.361.8452. (yahoo.com)
October 10, 2003
Day in and day out, workers sling hash to feed the
3,500 Tarrant County Jail inmates three hot meals a day. But
as companies line up this month to bid for a multimillion-dollar food-services
contract, the focus has shifted from slinging hash to slinging mud.
Two of the companies expected to bid on the contract
are run by former business partners turned bitter rivals. Sealed
bids are due to the Tarrant County purchasing department by Oct. 27. The
contract, now held by Hurst-based Mid-States Services, is worth about $4.1
million a year. Among the companies
expected to bid is Dallas-based Mid-America Services, run by Jack Madera. He has
a long history of winning lucrative contracts and maintaining friendships with
elected officials who have a say in whether the company gets public business.
Mid-America will compete for the contract against
Mid-States, which Madera started in 1970 and sold in February 1999.
John Sammons, chief executive of Mid-States and one
of the investors who bought the company from Madera, said there is more to the
bid than just a second helping of cafeteria business. "Our
group is committed to running this company with integrity," Sammons said.
"There is a clear-cut delineation between the Mid-States of the past and
the Mid-States of today. "The kind
of customer base we want is the kind who embraces integrity in government."
Business and pleasure
Many in Texas law enforcement consider Madera a
friend, including Tarrant County Sheriff Dee Anderson, whose office oversees
jail operations including the kitchen. "The
relationship began when I was elected," Anderson said. "Jack was, at
that point, a consultant for Mid-States. "Both
he and John [Sammons] became friends of mine and supporters." Sammons
says Madera's ties to law-enforcement officials prompted him to keep Madera on
board as a consultant after Madera sold Mid-States in 1999. Madera
and Sammons parted ways in March 2002, when Madera started Mid-America after a
three-year non-competition agreement expired with Mid-States. Madera
looked to his old friends to help his new business and promptly won contracts in
Dallas and Denton counties. There are
two types of contracts: food-services contracts, under which the county pays
companies to provide meals to inmates, and commissary contracts, under which
companies sell snacks and other items to inmates and return a portion of the
proceeds to the county. Sheriffs control
jail commissaries, including selection of the companies that handle the
services. Bids are required, and county proceeds must be used to benefit
inmates. A provision applying only to
Tarrant County requires commissioners court approval of commissary contracts.
Some of Madera's contracts have raised eyebrows. In
Dallas, Madera's relationship with Sheriff Jim Bowles has been criticized since
Bowles awarded the commissary contract to Mid-America in June 2002.
One Dallas County official labeled the contract a
"bad business decision," and questions have been raised about whether
Madera exerted undue influence through his friendships. But no specific
allegations of wrongdoing have been voiced publicly. Madera's
bid in Dallas County gave the sheriff's department about $600,000 a year, less
than what was offered by two other competitors, including Mid-States.
In Tarrant County, Anderson awarded Madera's
Mid-America the contract for commissary services in April. The company sells
aspirin, snacks, soap and other items from carts, dubbed "banana
wagons," that workers wheel through the jail. Under
the commissary contract, Madera will pay the sheriff's office at least $750,000
a year. As was the case in Denton and Dallas counties, Madera won the Tarrant
County business by beating out Mid-States, which held the existing contracts.
'No hidden agenda'
Anderson says he is confident that the bidding will
be above board, as he says it was when he awarded Mid-America the commissary
contract. Tarrant County commissioners
are expected to vote on the food-services contract by Dec. 31. Six companies are
expected to submit bids, which will be analyzed by an evaluation committee.
Anderson said the current commissary contract shows
that local officials are committed to hammering out the best deal possible.
"I believe we have the most lucrative contract
for any county in the state," Anderson said. "It is second to
none." Anderson said he has lunched
regularly and dined occasionally with Madera and has dined with Sammons, played
golf at his country club and seen a Dallas Stars game from a luxury box, all at
Sammons' expense. "I don't do
anything in secret," Anderson said. "There is no hidden agenda.
"Because we are clients, we have a relationship
with those people," he said. "Certainly, nothing improper has taken
place." Sammons also said there is
nothing improper about his relationship with Anderson. "Building
relationships is part of doing business in the public and the private
sector," Sammons said. "It is hard to develop trust."
Madera would not comment to the Star-Telegram
except to say he intends to bid on the jail food-services contract and that he
denies any inappropriate relationships with Tarrant County officials.
"There is nothing inappropriate going on in
Dallas, either," Madera said. Commissioner
J.D. Johnson, who represents Precinct 4, in the northwest part of the county,
said his 15- to 20-year friendship with Madera has not influenced county
business. "I've always tried to
vote for what I thought was the best deal, and it's what I'll do this
time," Johnson said. Sammons,
however, said he'll watch the bidding closely to ensure that he's treated
fairly. He won't be alone. Patrick
Turner, regional sales director for Aramark Corp., which also expects to bid on
the contract, said: "On a level playing field, we have always been able to
compete. But that's always been the question, whether it has always been a level
playing field." (Star-Telegram)
September 18, 2003
Visiting State District Judge Roger Towery has signed a $38.3 million judgment
against Sarasota, Fla.-based Correctional Services Corp. in a lawsuit over the
death of an 18-year-old man who died at a Mansfield boot camp in 2001. The
judgment, entered yesterday in Tarrant County's 236th District Court, includes
$37.4 million in actual damages plus interest and $750,000 in punitive damages.
In August, a Fort Worth jury awarded $35 million in actual damages and $5.1
million in punitive damages to the family of Bryan Alexander. The punitive
damages were reduced in the judgment under Texas punitive damage caps.
According to the lawsuit, Alexander died on Jan. 9, 2001, from a
penicillin-resistant form of pneumonia while participating in a six-month boot
camp program as a condition of his misdemeanor probation. Alexander chose the
boot camp over jail time. He died after his pleas for medical attention were
ignored for days. "This judgment sends a clear signal that the
original verdict in this case was sound," says Jeff Kobs, a partner in Fort
Worth's Kobs & Haney, who represented the Alexander family along with Fort
Worth attorney Bill Lane. During trial, Kobs and Lane argued that
Alexander's medical condition should have triggered a response from the boot
camp nurse or other employees of CSC. Evidence in the case showed that Alexander
experienced difficulty breathing and began coughing up blood at least five days
before his death. CSC eventually transferred Alexander to a local hospital, but
he died less than 36 hours after being admitted. "Bryan's was a
senseless death that should never have happened," Lane says. "The
Alexander family hopes this judgment will send a clear message to CSC and other
for-profit correctional companies, and that no other families are forced to
suffer a similar ordeal." Under Texas law, CSC has 30 days to appeal
the judgment, ask for a new trial, or pay the $38.3 million judgment. If CSC
appeals the judgment, state law would delay the payment of the judgment if CSC
posts a $25 million bond. For more information on the judgment in this
case, please contact attorney Jeff Kobs at 817.332.5956, attorney Bill Lane at
817.625.5570, or Bruce Vincent at 214.559.4630 or pager 888.361.8452.
(Yahoo Finance)
September 6, 2003
A state judge in Montague County is set to hear arguments today to finalize
$40.1 million in damages that a jury awarded last month to the parents of an
Arlington man who died while at the former Mansfield boot camp. Correctional
Services Corp. and its nurse Knyvett Reyes were found responsible for the
Jan. 9, 2001, death of Bryan Alexander. The 18-year-old probationer died of
a rare lung infection after his complaints of feeling weak and coughing up
blood went ignored for days. A Tarrant County jury decided that the
Florida-based company, which contracted to run the camp, and its nurse
should pay $35 million for Alexander's death, his suffering and his parents'
loss. The jury then added $5.1 million in punitive damages, with CSC to pay
most of the judgment. Attorneys for CSC and Reyes are expected to appeal the
verdict. CSC Chief Executive James Slattery said his attorneys intend to
"request that the court set aside the jury's verdict." "Mr.
Alexander died from an extremely rare form of antibiotic-resistant
pneumonia, which is not normally contracted outside of a hospital
setting," he said in a statement last week. "Even the plaintiffs'
experts testified that this condition would have been extremely difficult to
diagnose." Plaintiffs' attorneys say CSC's position shows an
"ongoing unwillingness to take responsibility" for Alexander's
death. "The defendants said they plan to fight us tooth and nail,"
said Mark Haney, one of seven attorneys representing Alexander's parents,
Rickey Alexander and Judy Schumpert. "They want to try and disregard
the verdict that addressed their bad behavior," he said. "It is a
slap in the face to the Alexander family and the jury's verdict." CSC's
Fort Worth attorney, Vic Anderson, declined to comment on the case. Reyes'
attorney, Michael Wallach, could not be reached to comment. CSC has $35
million in insurance to cover the jury award in Alexander's death. But the
company's insurer has sued, saying it is not obligated to pay because Reyes
was convicted last year of negligent homicide. That conviction is being
appealed. Under Texas law, punitive damages in the Alexander case are
limited to $750,000 for CSC and $100,000 for Reyes. The jury had set
punitive damages at $5 million to be paid by CSC and $100,000 from Reyes.
(Star-Telegram)
September 2, 2003
Jail operator Correctional Services Corp. on Friday said a Texas jury awarded
plaintiffs $5.1 million in punitive damages in a wrongful death suit against the
company and a former employee, but recovery is limited to $850,000 under Texas
law. The company said its primary liability insurance carrier has recently
taken the not uncommon step of disclaiming coverage, but it believes the carrier
has no legitimate basis for the decision and has retained counsel to enforce its
rights under the policies. (Yahoo Finance)
August 29, 2003
With no prior criminal record, the 18-year-old Arlington man hoped that the
former Mansfield boot camp would set him straight after a drunken-driving
arrest. He chose the regimented, low-security corrections facility over
jail time. But a rare, penicillin-resistant form of pneumonia killed Bryan
Alexander on Jan. 9, 2001, while he served his six-month sentence. His pleas for
medical attention had been ignored for days. "He wanted to get some
discipline at the camp and a chance to get his GED. It turned out to be a death
sentence for a DWI," said Charlie Smith, who represented the teen-ager in
the criminal matter and his family in a civil lawsuit. On Thursday, a
Tarrant County jury added $5.1 million in punitive damages to its award
Wednesday of $35 million in actual damages for Alexander's death, his suffering
and his parents' mental anguish and loss of their son. Jurors blamed the
camp's nurse, Knyvett Reyes, and Florida-based Correctional Services Corp.,
which contracted to run the 370-bed facility. CSC must pay $26 million of
the judgment, Reyes $14.1 million. Reyes' attorney, Michael Wallach, and CSC's
attorney, Vic Anderson, declined to comment. The lawsuit brought by
Alexander's parents, Rickey Alexander and Judy Schumpert, said Reyes and CSC
failed to provide Alexander with adequate and timely medical care. He had
complained of feeling weak and coughing up blood days before he was taken to
John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth. Alexander was immediately placed in
intensive care but died two days later. The boot camp and residential
drug-treatment programs at the Mansfield facility were closed six months after
Alexander's death. CSC had been paid $2.9 million a year by the state to run the
facility. On Thursday, attorneys for the Alexander family asked the jury
of five women and seven men to further punish CSC and Reyes to send a message to
other correction facilities and nurses. "You did listen to Bryan's
pleas for help. Unfortunately for Bryan, you are 2 1/2 years too late,"
Bill Lane, one of the plaintiffs' attorneys, told the jury in closing arguments
Thursday in the punitive-damage stage of the trial. "But you are not too
late to send a message to this private corporation that we will not accept the
lowest bidder or that the bottom line is worth more than a human
life." Attorneys for the defendants argued that their clients were
unaware of the seriousness of Alexander's illness. Reyes testified that she
treated Alexander for a cold, flu and strep throat based on her evaluation of
his symptoms. Fort Worth accountant L. Andrew McCartney said CSC is worth
more than $50.8 million, based on recent financial reports filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. CSC has about $25 million in insurance
coverage that could be used to cover the judgment, said Anderson, CSC's
attorney. "If the company is closed down, there are going to be a lot
of people out of jobs," he said. Reyes' attorney, Wallach, said:
"I think we all know Knyvett Reyes is not a corporation. I would ask that
you punish her no further." (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)
August 28, 2003
A former nurse and a Florida-based private
corrections company that operated the defunct Mansfield boot camp were
responsible for the death of an 18-year-old inmate, a Tarrant County jury
decided Wednesday. The jury of five
women and seven men ordered the nurse and company to pay $35 million for the
death of Bryan Alexander, his suffering, and his parents' mental anguish and
loss of companionship. Alexander died of
a rare penicillin-resistant form of pneumonia at John Peter Smith Hospital in
Fort Worth, two days after being transported from the camp for probationers.
Arlington lawyer Charlie Smith, who represented
Alexander in his criminal matter and the Alexander family in the wrongful-death
lawsuit, said he was not surprised by the jury's verdict. "This
case was more like a homicide case than a wrongful-death lawsuit because of the
way this young man died," said Smith, one of seven attorneys representing
the Alexander family. "Bryan's family was hopeful that this jury would
speak loud about the conduct of these defendants so it will not happen to
another child in the same circumstances as Bryan Alexander." The
lawsuit asserted that Correctional Services Corp., and its nurse at the camp,
Knyvett Reyes of Arlington, did not provide Alexander with adequate and timely
medical care. Alexander had complained of feeling weak and was coughing up blood
days before he was taken to JPS Hospital. But
Reyes testified during the seven-week trial that, based on her evaluation of his
symptoms, she treated Alexander for a cold, flu and strep throat. Witnesses
testified that Reyes thought the inmate was faking his illness. Reyes'
attorney, Michael Wallach, declined to comment after the jury's verdict.
Correctional Services Corp.'s attorney, Vic Anderson, also declined to comment.
Attorneys for Alexander's parents, Rickey Alexander
and Judy Schumpert, said Reyes' skepticism cost Alexander his life. He was
serving a sentence at the facility for a drunken-driving conviction and had no
prior criminal record, according to testimony. Correctional
Services Corp., which was paid about $2.9 million a year to run the camp, must
pay 60 percent of the $35 million judgment, while Reyes was ordered to pay 40
percent. The jury also decided that
Reyes and Correctional Services Corp. acted with malice in ignoring Alexander's
pleas for help, which means the defendants must pay punitive damages. Closing
arguments are scheduled for today to determine punitive damages. Fort
Worth accountant L. Andrew McCartney said Correctional Services Corp. is worth
more than $50.8 million, based on recent financial reports filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. "They
are currently making a profit," he testified. Reyes'
financial condition was not brought up. Plaintiffs'
attorneys are seeking $40 million in punitive damages for the Alexander family.
Correctional Services Corp. has about $25 million in
insurance coverage that could be used to cover the lawsuit judgment, said
Anderson, the company's attorney. "In
this case, the plaintiffs are asking the jury to punish the company. If the jury
punishes the company, they are probably going to be punishing the stockholders
of this company," Anderson said. (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)
August 28, 2003
A former nurse and a Florida-based private corrections company that operated a
defunct Mansfield boot camp were responsible for the death of an 18-year-old
inmate, a Tarrant County jury decided Wednesday. The jury of five women
and seven men ordered the nurse and company to pay $35 million for the death of
Bryan Alexander, his suffering, and his parents' mental anguish and future loss
of companionship. Alexander died of a rare penicillin-resistant form of
pneumonia at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth, two days after being
transported from the camp for probationers. Arlington lawyer Charlie
Smith, who represented Alexander in his criminal case and the Alexander family
in the wrongful-death lawsuit, said he was not surprised by the jury's
verdict. "This case was more like a homicide case than a
wrongful-death lawsuit because of the way this young man died," said Smith,
one of seven attorneys representing the Alexander family. "Bryan's family
was hopeful that this jury would speak loud about the conduct of these
defendants so it will not happen to another child in the same circumstances as
Bryan Alexander." The lawsuit asserted that Correctional Services
Corp. and its nurse at the camp, Knyvett Reyes, failed to provide Alexander with
adequate and timely medical care. Alexander had complained of weakness and was
coughing up blood days before he was taken to JPS Hospital. But Reyes
testified during the seven-week trial that, based on her evaluation of his
symptoms, she treated Alexander for a cold, flu and strep throat. Witnesses
testified that Reyes thought the inmate was faking his illness. Attorneys
for Alexander's parents, Rickey Alexander and Judy Schumpert, said Reyes'
skepticism cost Alexander his life. He was serving a sentence at the facility
for a drunken-driving conviction and had no prior criminal record, according to
testimony. Correctional Services Corp., which was paid about $2.9 million
a year to run the camp, must pay 60 percent of the $35 million judgment; Reyes
was ordered to pay 40 percent. (Fort
Worth Star-Telegram)
August 27, 2003
Correctional Services Corporation today announced that a Tarrant County, Texas
jury has returned a $35 million verdict against the Company and its former
employee in the wrongful death suit by the parents and estate of Bryan
Alexander. Mr. Alexander died of a rare penicillin-resistant form of pneumonia
while incarcerated at the Tarrant County Community Correctional Facility, which
was operated by the Company at the time. The jury will now be asked to consider
whether punitive damages should also be awarded against the Company and/or its
former employee. (Yahoo Finance)
August 27, 2003
A Tarrant County jury is expected to continue deliberations today in the
wrongful-death lawsuit in the case of an Arlington teen-ager who died while
serving a sentence at the former Mansfield boot camp. Bryan Alexander, 18,
died of pneumonia at John Peter Smith Hospital on Jan. 9, 2001 -- days after he
complained of feeling weak and coughing up blood. He had a rare
penicillin-resistant infection, hospital tests later revealed. Attorneys
for his parents, Rickey Alexander and Judy Schumpert, said Florida-based
Correctional Services Corp., the private company that operated the boot camp,
and its nurse, Knyvett Reyes, ignored Bryan Alexander's pleas for medical
attention and could have saved his life. The attorneys are asking for at
least $75 million for Alexander's death, his suffering and his parents' mental
anguish. (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)
August 26, 2003
A Tarrant County jury began deliberations Monday in
the wrongful-death lawsuit in the case of an Arlington man who died while
serving a drunken-driving sentence at the former Mansfield boot camp.
Bryan Alexander, 18, died of pneumonia at John Peter
Smith Hospital on Jan. 9, 2001 -- days after he complained of feeling weak and
coughing up blood. He had a rare penicillin-resistant infection, hospital tests
later revealed. Attorneys for his
parents -- Rickey Alexander and Judy Schumpert -- said the Florida-based private
company that operated the boot camp and its nurse, Knyvett Reyes, ignored his
pleas for medical attention and could have saved his life. "They
don't believe they did anything wrong," said Jeff Kobs, one of seven
attorneys representing the Alexander family. "No one has come to this
courtroom to say they were sorry or regret what they did. I want you to tell
these people they are responsible and what happened was wrong."
Alexander's parents are suing Reyes and Correctional
Services Corp., which contracted to run the 370-bed facility for probationers
and drug treatment. Plaintiffs' attorneys suggested an award of $75 million for
Alexander's death, his suffering and his parents' mental anguish. A
jury of five women and seven men listened to nearly eight hours of closing
arguments Monday in the trial that began July 7. They are expected to resume
deliberations this morning. The
defendants' attorneys argued that Alexander was provided with adequate medical
care and that he was the only one to blame for his death because he failed to
provide the camp's nurse with enough information about his illness.
"It wasn't going to make any difference on the
ultimate outcome if he had been seen by a doctor on Jan. 5," Reyes'
attorney, Michael Wallach, said. "Alexander never proved he was coughing up
blood until Jan. 7. He had every opportunity to bring nurse Reyes the
proof." Attorney Vic Anderson, who
represents CSC, said the plaintiffs' witnesses were not credible because they
were mostly former inmates at the boot camp, and he frequently called them
"criminals." Anderson also
said that Alexander showed signs of having a cold or the flu but that he was not
seriously ill until he was transported to JPS. "We
believe nurse Reyes did not think there was an extreme risk involved with
Alexander," Anderson said. "She was treating him for strep
throat." Reyes was convicted of
negligent homicide last year in Alexander's death and sentenced to four years'
probation. But attorneys for the Alexander family could not present her
conviction to jurors because the case is under appeal. The
county's 19 criminal court judges closed the boot camp in July 2001 amid an
array of problems at the facility. Attorneys for the Alexander family are also
suing the judges who oversaw the facility in 2000 and 2001 and the probation
department. Reyes surrendered her
nursing license in 2001 during a state nursing board investigation.
CSC still has two contracts with Texas. The publicly
traded company is paid about $7 million to run a halfway house in Fort Worth and
an intermediate-sanction facility in Houston, state prison spokesman Larry Todd
said. Alexander's attorneys said a
judgment in the lawsuit is important to prevent similar incidents at other
facilities operated by CSC. "We're
talking about a for-profit corrections company that houses our youths. They do
it for the money. And it's the bottom line they are concerned about, not about
responsibility," said Bill Lane, one of the plaintiffs' attorneys. "It
is wrong what happened to Bryan Alexander, and they should pay for what
happened." (Fort Worth Star-Telegram)
July 21, 2003
A Texas Rangers' investigation into the death of an inmate at the former
Mansfield boot camp determined that the 18-year-old probationer had to take cold
and flu pills for days before he was allowed to visit a nurse. Attorneys blamed
a nurse's skepticism and poor staffing by a Florida-based private company that
ran a Mansfield boot camp for the death of an inmate who had been serving a
drunken-driving sentence at the facility. The attorneys, who represent the
parents of Bryan Alexander, made the accusations Thursday during opening
statements of a wrongful death trial. Alexander, 18, of Arlington died Jan. 9,
2001, two days after being transferred to a Fort Worth hospital. He had a form
of pneumonia that was resistant to penicillin. Plaintiffs' attorneys contend the
camp's nurse and Correctional Services Corp., which contracted to run the camp
for the county's judges and probation department, failed to provide Alexander
with timely and adequate medical care. "They watched him die,"
Charlie Smith said in opening statements. He is one of seven attorneys
representing Alexander's parents, Rickey Alexander and Judy Schumpert.
Visiting State District Judge Roger Towery is presiding over the trial, and a
five-woman, seven-man jury will decide the case. The plaintiffs' attorneys
contend Bryan Alexander tried to get medical attention as early as Dec. 31 but
was not seen until Jan. 5. Alexander had been given over-the-counter medication
to treat a cold or flu. Alexander's parents are suing CSC and the camp's
former nurse, Knyvett Reyes, who was hired by the company. Reyes was convicted
of negligent homicide last year in Alexander's death. Attorneys on both sides
are awaiting clarification from the 2nd Court of Appeals in Fort Worth on
whether that conviction is final or under appeal. Vic Anderson, an
attorney for CSC, said Reyes acted appropriately in treating what she believed
was the flu or strep throat and could not have known the severity of Alexander's
illness. "We do not deny the fact that Mr. Alexander was ill and
began feeling bad sometime in late December or early January," Anderson
said in opening statements. "But a lot of people at the facility were
feeling bad," he said. "There was an outbreak of flu. It was not
an unusual thing for someone at the camp to say they are sick to get out of work
or to get a trip to the hospital." Alexander died two days after
being taken to John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth on Jan. 7, 2001.
"Just because there is a death doesn't necessarily mean there is someone at
fault," Anderson said. Texas Rangers Sgt. Alvin Alexis testified that
the boot camp had a policy of requiring probationers at the 370-bed Mansfield
facility to take over-the-counter drugs for three days before they could request
a visit to the camp's nurse. Alexis said Alexander complained of coughing
up blood but had to take cold and flu pills for three days and then tried for
another three days to visit the camp's nurse. Alexis based his conclusions on
CSC records and interviews with CSC employees and boot camp inmates.
Reyes' attorney, Michael Wallach, told jurors they should question the
reliability of inmates' statements, even Alexander's. "You will have
to determine whether Bryan Alexander was a reliable historian of his own health
problems," he said. The civil lawsuit, which initially sought more
than $700 million in damages, is expected to last more than a month, court
officials said. Attorneys for Alexander's parents are not disclosing how much in
damages they'll seek at the conclusion of the trial. (Fort Worth Star
Telegram)
July 14, 2003
Jury selection begins today in the wrongful death lawsuit filed by the parents
of an 18-year-old Arlington man who died after becoming ill at a former
Mansfield facility for probationers. While serving a sentence for drunken
driving, Bryan Alexander developed a rare lung infection and died Jan. 9, 2001,
two days after being transferred to a Fort Worth hospital. Alexander's
parents, Rickey Alexander and Judy Schumpert, are suing Correctional Services
Corp., the Florida-based private contractor that operated the camp, and its
former nurse, Knyvett Reyes, who was convicted in Alexander's death last
year. The lawsuit, which initially sought $755 million, contends that the
camp and its employees ignored warning signs of Alexander's failing
health. Attorneys for Correctional Services and Reyes did not return phone
calls Friday. The lawsuit may help prevent other inmates' medical concerns
from being ignored, attorneys for Alexander's parents say. Last year,
Reyes, the camp's former nurse, was sentenced to two years in jail, but a
probationary sentence was imposed in lieu of jail time. She was also ordered to
pay $10,939.74 in restitution. The attorneys for the state and for Reyes
negotiated the sentence. Reyes' attorney, Jack Strickland, is trying to
appeal the conviction. But the special prosecutor in the case is fighting the
request, meaning that Reyes' conviction can be used as evidence in the civil
case, attorneys say. Plaintiff attorneys said they will focus on Reyes'
actions in Alexander's death and how the private contractor limited inmates'
access to medical attention. The Tarrant County Medical Examiner's Office
ruled that Alexander died of pneumonia caused by an antibiotic-resistant
infection. Doctors at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth could not detect
and treat the infection in time to save his life. Six months after
Alexander's death, the county's 19 criminal-court judges voted to close the boot
camp and residential drug-treatment programs at the 370-bed facility. The judges
also voted to end the county's $2.9 million annual contract with Correctional
Services Corp. (Star-Telegram)
Colorado
County Juvenile Facility,
Eagle Lake, Texas
February 7, 2006 The Victoria Advocate
Colorado County officials are expected to decide today if the county
will close the Eagle Lake Juvenile Detention Facility Boot Camp. The
decision will be made during a special commissioners court meeting at 9
a.m. The only item on the agenda is to consider authorizing County Judge
Al Jamison to close operation of the boot camp. The county has been
operating the facility since Sept. 1 after the previous operator,
Florida-based Correction Services Corporation, notified the county it
would end its contract on Aug. 31. The court conducted a six-month
review, Jamison said in a Monday phone interview. "We're losing money on
the facility and I would like to shut it down and quit the bleeding."
Correctional Services Corporation, Sarasota,
Florida
November 8, 2005 Sarasota Herald-Tribune
The GEO Group, based in Boca Raton, has closed its $62 million deal for
the Sarasota-based private prison management company. GEO ended up
paying $6 per share and assuming $124 million in Correctional Services
debt. The local company's founder, James Slattery, plans to continue to
run Youth Services International, which runs detention operations for
youthful offenders, out of Sarasota. That unit manages programs at 17
centers with 1,300 beds. Slattery paid $3.75 million for the business.
GEO will continue to own the 26-acre property in Newport News, Va., that
housed one of Youth Services' juvenile operations. Contingent on the
closing was a settlement by Correctional Services on a $38.8 million
judgment that held the company responsible for the death of Bryan Dale
Alexander, an 18-year-old inmate at a Texas boot camp. The terms were
held confidential, but the Sarasota company paid $2.7 million toward the
settlement, with the rest made up by its liability insurers, which
initially balked at paying the award. A Texas jury in August 2003 found
CSC and a nurse at the now-closed Mansfield boot camp responsible for
Alexander's death. He died of a rare penicillin-resistant form of
pneumonia. The judgment against CSC and nurse Knyvett Reyes included $35
million in actual damages, $750,000 in punitive damages and more than
$2.4 million in interest. Correctional Services' former adult division
owns or operates 15 centers with 7,500 beds. GEO manages 41 prisons and
jails with 36,000 beds in the United States, Australia, South Africa and
Canada.
November 7, 2005 Yahoo
The GEO Group, Inc. (NYSE: GGI - News; "GEO"), a world leader
in the delivery of correctional and mental health services, announced
today the successful completion of its previously announced acquisition
of Sarasota-based Correctional Services Corporation (Nasdaq: CSCQ -
News; "CSC"), a leading developer and manager of privatized
correctional and detention facilities, for approximately $62 million, or
$6.00 per common share. GEO also assumed $124 million of CSC
non-recourse debt. GEO's acquisition of CSC will add 16 adult male
facilities located in six states, totaling approximately 8,000 beds, to
GEO's operations, representing local, state and federal clients,
including the Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the
United States Marshals Service. Post-closing of the CSC acquisition, GEO
will have contracts and awards to manage 58 facilities with a total
design capacity of approximately 48,000 beds, increasing GEO's
correctional bed market share from 22 percent to 28 percent.
October 22, 2005 Sarasota Herald Tribune
Correctional Services Corp. has
settled a $38.3 million judgment that held the company responsible for the death
of an 18-year-old inmate at a Texas boot camp. Terms of the agreement are
confidential, but the Sarasota-based prison manager said Friday it will pay $2.7
million toward the settlement. The rest will be covered by CSC's liability
insurers, which initially balked at paying the award. The agreement is
contingent on the closing of CSC's previously announced sale to The GEO Group
Inc. for $62 million. CSC shareholders will vote on the sale Nov. 4. If that
deal falls through, so does the settlement. A Texas jury in August 2003 found
CSC and a nurse at the now-closed Mansfield boot camp responsible for the death
of Bryan D. Alexander. Alexander, serving a six-month sentence for a misdemeanor
driving conviction, died in 2001 of a rare penicillin-resistant form of
pneumonia. Trial testimony showed he was treated for a cold and flu even though
he had coughed up blood for five days before his death. His parents sued CSC and
nurse Knyvett Reyes for their loss and anguish. Reyes was convicted of negligent
homicide and was sentenced to four years of community supervision. She also
surrendered her registered nurse's license. The judgment against CSC and Reyes
included $35 million in actual damages, $750,000 in punitive damages and more
than $2.4 million in interest. The settlement will resolve all claims and
lawsuits against CSC and Reyes. It also will end a dispute between CSC and its
liability insurers over who should pay. Boca Raton-based GEO is paying $62
million in cash, or $6 a share, and assuming $124 million in liabilities to
acquire CSC. It will then sell the Youth Services International subsidiary to
CSC president James Slattery for $3.75 million. That unit manages programs at 17
centers with 1,300 beds. GEO will acquire the adult division that owns or
operates 15 facilities with 7,500 beds. GEO manages 41 prisons and jails with
36,000 beds in the United States, Australia, South Africa and Canada. Shares of
CSC were selling for $5.91 on the Nasdaq at the close of trading Friday, up 1
cent.
May 13, 2005 Sarasota Herald Tribune
Private prison manager Correctional Services says a
lack of use of its immigration holding centers as well as prisons in Texas bit
into its bottom line during the first quarter. The Sarasota-based company
reported a loss of $509,000, or 5 cents per share. That compared with a loss of
$656,000, or 6 cents per share a year earlier. Correctional Services, which runs
both adult and juvenile detention centers, closed four juvenile operations
during 2004 and expects to close another two this year.
Cypress Creek Juvenile Detention Center, Lecanto, Florida
Two years ago, Cypress Creek Juvenile
Detention Facility in Lecanto was wrought with scandal - from female
guards having sex with inmates to allegations of brutal inmate
treatment. The Department of Juvenile Justice terminated its
contract with Correction Services Corporation last year and brought in
Securicor to
run the Level 10, or maximum security, juvenile jail. "But we
still have a considerable amount of turnover. It's probably in line with
the rest of the industry," he said. "It's just the nature of
this business. Stress is always a factor. But if you run good programs
and people can see the light at the end of the tunnel and that they're
making a difference, then you'll keep good people." (Citrus
Chronicle, June 28, 2004)
Mrs. Diane Wilbur says she has reached
a kind of closure. It took a lot of perseverance, and even guts, for her
to stand up to a multimillion-dollar corporation, but last week in
Federal District Court in Ocala, she was vindicated. After a
four-day-long trial and a jury that deliberated for more than six hours,
Federal Judge William Terrell Hodges found in favor of Wilbur in her
case against Correctional Services Corp, alleging sexual harassment.
Wilbur told the Ocala jury that her employers fired her because she
refused to have sex with her bosses. Her attorney, Craig Berman of St.
Petersburg, said that it was also clear that her dismissal from Cypress
Creek had something to do with her complaints to the company and
Department of Juvenile Justice over wrongdoings in the facility. These
wrongdoings involved beatings of teen inmates and sexual misconduct
galore. Her reports were ignored or covered up. (Citrus Chronicle,
September 3, 2003)
At midnight Monday, Cypress Creek Academy came under new management.
Securicor New Century took over operations of the 96-bed facility, one
of four maximum-level juvenile facilities in the state. Cypress Creek
had been operated by Correctional Services Corp., a Sarasota-based
private company, since 1998 when it acquired Youth Services
International. The department's contract with Correctional Services came
up for bid in December. Under Correctional Services' management, there
were escapes from Cypress Creek in 2000 and 2001. In addition, a female
guard was charged last year with having sex with three inmates older
than 18; she later accepted a plea agreement and was sentenced to four
years of probation. In 2002, a critical concern was an inadequate amount
of mental health and substance abuse treatment services, according to
the review. Before Correctional Services and Youth Services
International, there was another private company, Rebound, that ran
Cypress Creek on the state's behalf. The state canceled its contract
with Rebound after the company experienced many problems. (St.
Petersburg Times, July 2, 2003)
Eagle Lake Juvenile Facility, Columbus,
Texas
November 29, 2005 Victoria Advocate
The Colorado County Commissioners Court has formed a committee to
determine which of the county's taxing entities will be able to use the
new voting machines for its elections. "We formed the committee to
come up with an equitable system for all of the voting entities in the
county to use the equipment," County Judge Al Jamison said after
Monday's court meeting. "We've purchased 16 of the machines and
have three cities and three school districts." "Now that the
county is running the facility, the school district wanted the contract
to be with us rather than Correctional Services Corporation,"
Jamison said. "The district operates an off-campus program at the
juvenile facility with a principal and five teachers. That way the kids
at the facility are not in an educational vacuum. For example, if they
are in eighth grade, they follow an eighth grade course of learning at
the facility."
Elizabeth Detention Center, Elizabeth, New
Jersey
September 7, 2005 AP
Immigrants who
claimed they were abused at a detention center won a $2.5 million
settlement from a private company that operated the center for the
federal government. After legal fees, some 1,600 detainees will divide
about $1.5 million based on how long they were held and what they said
was done to them, the New Jersey Law Journal reported this week. U.S.
District Judge Dickinson R. Debevoise, in Newark, approved the
settlement Aug. 10. The detainees were being held at the Elizabeth
center between August 1994 and June 1995 for what was then called the
Immigration and Naturalization Service. Many have since been deported.
The center was operated by Esmor Correctional Services, then based in
Melville, N.Y., until shortly after a June 1995 riot, when about 100
immigrants broke windows, destroyed furniture and overpowered guards,
claiming they had suffered physical abuse and other inhumane conditions.
The INS closed the center and fired Esmor after its investigation found
that poorly trained guards abused the detainees physically and mentally,
gave them spoiled food and deprived them of sleep. The detention center
reopened in January 1997 after renovations were completed by its new
operator, Corrections Corp. of America, of Nashville, Tenn. Still
pending is a related lawsuit against Esmor, now known as Correctional
Services Corp., of Sarasota, Fla., by nine detainees who claim that
political asylum seekers were abused and harassed at the center.
November 17, 2004 AP
Evidence shows political asylum seekers were abused and harassed while
detained at a privately operated facility that lacked clean food,
clothes and bedding, a federal judge found as he refused to dismiss a
lawsuit by nine immigrants. "You don't need to beat someone to a
pulp until they're ready to die to violate human rights law," said
the lawyer, Penny M. Venetis, associate director of the Constitutional
Law Clinic at Rutgers School of Law-Newark. The ruling, filed Nov. 10 by
U.S. District Judge Dickinson R. Debevoise in Newark, is the latest
milestone in a lawsuit filed in 1997 against what was then called the
Immigration and Naturalization Service and the company that ran its
detention center in Elizabeth. The judge dismissed charges against the
INS and its officials, saying the government cannot be sued. He also
dismissed some charges against the company's guards, finding that
individual actions did not rise to the level of international human
rights abuses, Venetis said. But he refused to dismiss all charges
against Correctional Services Corp. and its officials. The Sarasota,
Fla.-based company was known as Esmor Corp. when it operated the INS
detention center. The judge said the evidence showed that detention
center administrator Willard Stovall was "fully aware" of
abuses, and listed 21 examples, including the beatings of detainees and
the sexual assault of one female detainee. Other examples cited by the
judge were sexual harassment that included guards watching women
detainees take showers, broken toilets, defective heating, and lack of
access to supplies such as toothbrushes and toothpaste. In addition,
guards interfered with detainees' efforts to practice their religions,
whether they were Christian, Hindu or Muslim, the judge said. The
Elizabeth center was operated by Esmor, then based in Melville, N.Y.,
until shortly after a June 1995 riot, when about 100 immigrants broke
windows, destroyed furniture and overpowered guards, claiming they
suffered physical abuse and other inhumane conditions. The INS closed
the center and fired Esmor after its investigation found that poorly
trained guards abused the detainees physically and mentally, gave them
spoiled food and deprived them of sleep. The detention center reopened
in January 1997 after renovations were completed by its new operator,
Corrections Corp. of America, of Nashville, Tenn.
Florida Department of Juvenile Justice
December 19, 2004 Orlando Sentinel
Florida has regularly locked up many underage offenders for months or
years longer than they were told, shuffling them from program to program
and forcing them to restart their terms. It's a practice that can harm
the young people the system is supposed to help, stealing a wide swath
of their adolescence and keeping them locked up in a sometimes-violent
environment long after they might have been sent home. Often, even those
who stayed out of trouble and followed the rules were forced to start
their terms over, a six-month Orlando Sentinel investigation found. ·
The department transferred 3,631 offenders during five years, an
average of 726 a year. That, according to the department's own
calculations, was about 10 percent of its annual admissions. The
transfers extended the offenders' stays dramatically -- up to four times
longer than those who were not moved. ·
The extended stays inflated the cost of treatment at least by an
estimated $20.3 million during the five-year period studied by the
Sentinel. · In the
overwhelming majority of transfers, an offender was moved from one
privately run program to another. Children's advocates argue that all
those transfers raise serious questions about the ability of the
department to manage its programs, the bulk of them operated by private
companies. The Sentinel estimated that, during the five years it
studied, transfers cost the state an extra $20.3 million. To arrive at
that number, the paper analyzed a department database -- the most recent
available -- that tracked the comings and goings of 35,107 juvenile
offenders from fiscal 1999 through 2003. Of those, 27,882 began and
completed their treatment during the five-year period the paper
examined. And almost 10 percent were transferred at least once. Twice in
the past three years, the audit branch of the Florida Legislature
criticized DJJ for making so many transfers. The Office of Program
Policy Analysis and Government Accountability looked at the same data as
the Sentinel, except it had three instead of five years' worth. In
April, the Sentinel reported that DJJ and its contractors were
responsible for 661 confirmed cases of child abuse or neglect during
nine years, according to data provided by another state agency, the
Florida Department of Children & Families. Most of the abuse
occurred at programs run by private companies. Many of the department's
residential providers are nonprofit, but three of its top five are not.
They are Securicor New Century LLC of Richmond, Va.; Premier Behavioral
Solutions Inc. of Coral Gables; and Correctional Services Corp. of
Sarasota. Combined, they account for a third of the system's beds.
Securicor was involved in at least 792 transfers during five years,
according to DJJ data. For Premier, the number was at least 873; and
Correctional Services Corp. and an affiliate, Youth Services
International, accounted for 736. Industry executives said they
emphasize helping kids.
Frio County Detention Center, Texas
March 12, 2005 Express-News
An alleged member of the Mexican Mafia who was part of a jailbreak
last summer at the Frio County Jail pleaded guilty Friday to escape. Reymundo
Alaniz Flores - one of five inmates who escaped - entered the plea
before U.S. Magistrate Judge John Primomo in San Antonio. The
escape occurred Aug. 6 at the privately run jail in Pearsall that used
to house federal inmates. Authorities
allege Robert Lee Jack and Randy Wayne Folsom helped the escape by
cutting a hole in a perimeter fence, supplying wire cutters to the
inmates and driving them away.
January 21, 2005 Express-News
A San Antonio man admitted Thursday that he helped five federal inmates
escape from Frio County Jail last summer. At
a hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Pamela Mathy, Robert Lee Jack,
32, pleaded guilty to instigating and assisting the Aug. 6, 2004,
escape. Jack admitted he went
to the privately run jail in Pearsall the day of the escape and tossed a
pair of bolt cutters over a perimeter fence to an inmate. Jack
also admitted cutting a hole in an outside fence. He
faces up to five years in prison when he's sentenced May 12. Two
of the inmates remain at large.
October 13, 2004 Houston Chronicle
Two
federal inmates who escaped from a South Texas detention facility in
August were captured Wednesday near Laredo, officials said. The men were
among five inmates who fled a Frio County lockup Aug. 6, possibly with
the help of the Mexican Mafia. One of the escapees was caught shortly
after the escape. The two who remain on the loose are presumed to be in
South Texas, officials said. The "Frio Five" were able to flee
the jail through holes cut in security fences, possibly with outside
assistance. An investigation continues into whether they had inside
help.
Federal
authorities are hoping $50,000 will persuade someone to give up the
whereabouts of five inmates who escaped last week from the privately
operated Frio County Jail. LaFayette Collins, U.S. marshal for the
Western District of Texas, said at a news conference today that it is
offering rewards of $10,000 apiece for information leading to the
recapture of the former jail residents, who slipped to freedom Aug. 6
through holes cut in two perimeter fences. Collins also said the
escape probe continues, including interviewing — and re-interviewing -
jail guards to see what they know. No determination has been made on
whether the inmates — who are said to have ties to the Texas Mexican
Mafia gang — had help inside or outside the lockup, or both. "We
suspect everything and everybody at this point," Collins said.
Meanwhile, the Sarasota, Fla.-based company that runs the jail under
contract, Correctional Services Corp., has refused to publicly explain
the foul-up, ordering its local officials to turn down media interviews
and not returning numerous calls seeking comment. (Express-News, August
13, 2004)
The first round of layoffs began Tuesday
at the privately run Frio County Jail in the wake of last week's broad
daylight escape of five federal inmates. Jose "Nacho"
Hernandez, a former detention officer, said his son, Joel, and a friend
were among those who lost their jobs. He said he didn't know how
many detention officers received letters Tuesday notifying them of the
layoffs. But up to 30 employees are expected to be laid off,
County Judge Carlos Garcia said Tuesday. Garcia said
representatives with Correctional Services Corp. advised him the
cutbacks were necessary after the U.S. Marshals Service withdrew its
remaining 240 inmates from the jail over the weekend, citing security
concerns. The five inmates that escaped Friday remained on the
loose Tuesday. (Express-News, August 11, 2004)
Big changes at the Frio County Jail,
as hundreds of inmates are shipped out. They were sent to another
facility just one day after five convicts escaped from the jail, and
more changes could be on the way. "What are we waiting for
are. Are we waiting for one of these persons to go into one of these
homes and kill somebody?," said Mayor Roland Segovia. The
mayor of Pearsall is concerned about the company that runs the Frio
County Jail. Segovia says Correction Services Corporation out of
Florida is a good company but, "having six breakouts in the past
eight years and only catching one of the 15 that have escaped, that's
pretty scary," said Segovia. He says on Saturday about 200
jail inmates were shipped to another jail. "We stand at only
about 40 inmates in the Frio County Jail," said Segovia.
Segovia also says he's heard dozens of Frio County CSC employees are
being laid off as operations are scaled back. "To lose 75
people in a matter of two or three days that's a lot," said
Segovia. (WOAI.com, August 10, 2004)
After the fifth breakout at Frio
County Jail in the past eight years, nearby residents reacted Saturday
with a mix of anger and indifference to the rash of escapes. Five
inmates cut through two fences and walked away from the jail at about 1
p.m. Friday, before a massive nine-hour manhunt came up empty and was
called off due to darkness, rain and thick brush in the area.
Since the start of 1996, 14 inmates have escaped from the jail in five
incidents. On Saturday afternoon, a bus from the LaSalle County
Detention Center in Cotulla was at the Pearsall jail to transfer some of
the federal inmates out of the Frio County facility. Jail officials
declined to provide details on the number of inmates being sent to
LaSalle County. Some nearby residents complained because they
didn't learn of the escape for hours. Like many Pearsall
residents, Judy Stacy, who lives two blocks from the jail, was
incredulous after another escape. "It's absurd," she
said. "How could you cut two holes through the fences and just walk
out? Don't they have people watching them?" Nell Youngblood
lives a block from the jail, but did not hear about the escape for more
than two hours. Then her husband locked all the doors and all but one
window. (Express-News, August 9, 2004)
Five federal prisoners escaped today
from a privately run lockup near San Antonio, according to the Frio
County Sheriff's Department. Spokesman John Butler said the escape
from a Correctional Services Corp. facility in Pearsall occurred around
1 p.m. He said the prisoners were in the custody of the Marshal's
Service office in Laredo, which uses the lockup under contract.
Butler, based in San Antonio, said a headcount was under way this
afternoon to determine who was missing and how dangerous they might
be. Investigators were also trying to determine how the
prisoners got away, though Butler said witnesses reported seeing them
crawling under perimeter fences. (AP, August 6, 2004)
Law officers continued searching today
for two federal inmates who escaped from a South Texas lockup. The
prisoners, both Mexican nationals, were reported missing late Monday
morning from the Frio County Detention Center. Jorge Perez Delgado, 45,
and 29-year-old Oscar Herrada Herrera were held on federal drug charges
out of Laredo, said David Sligh, supervisory deputy U.S. marshal for the
Western District of Texas. (AP, September 10, 2003)
Genesis Treatment Center, Newport News, Virginia
May 14, 2005 Daily Press
The former operations director of a treatment
center for troubled youth has filed suit against the companies that ran
the now-defunct center, alleging he was discriminated against because of
his race and fired in retaliation for his complaints. In the suit, filed
last week in Newport News Circuit Court, James E. Graves of Hampton
seeks $1.85 million in lost wages and damages as a result of losing his
job at the Genesis Treatment Center. The suit names center operator
Youth Services International and parent company Correctional Services
Corp. as well as the center's former facility administrator as
defendants. The treatment center, which operated out of the old Newport
News General Hospital on Marshall Avenue, treated boys and young men
between the ages of 12 and 21 for severe emotional disorders and sexual
delinquency. It closed in October 2003 because of financial problems,
although former employees questioned whether internal problems there had
something to do with it. At the time the center closed, at least five
employees had reportedly filed discrimination complaints with the U.S.
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. At least one of those
complaints was settled, Graves said, while the EEOC gave him the green
light to sue.
Geo Group, Florida
July 14, 2005
Correctional Services Corp., the Sarasota-based prison management
company, is being bought by Boca Raton’s GEO Group Inc. for $6 per
share. That
is a 37 percent premium based on the Sarasota company’s closing price
of $4.39 per share on Wednesday. The all-cash deal works out to $62
million price for Correctional Services. GEO
Group, which also manages prisons and mental health operations, also
will assume $124 million in Correctional Services debt and said that it
plans to divest the Sarasota company’s juvenile services division,
which has been problematic for the prison manager.
Grenada County Detention Center, Grenada, Mississippi
May 28, 2006 Daily Star
The operators of the Grenada County Jail have told county officials they
plan to give it back to the county in 120 days. Geo Group, Inc., the
leaser of the local correctional facility, met with Grenada County
officials last week to discuss the financial shortfalls which the leaser
is suffering. "We have had an initial discussion with the county and we
are hoping to come to a resolution beneficial to both parties," said
Pablo Paez, the Director of Corporate Relations with The Geo Group. Geo
took over the county jail last year when the Florida based Correctional
Service Corporation's (CSC) contract ended. Paez said yesterday that Geo
is working with the county but no final decision has been made yet.
Grenada County Board of Supervisors President Columbus Hankins said Geo
did give a notice and they were asked to submit a proposal to the county
if they had any adjustments that were to be made. "We are seeking bids
for a new leaser even though it is still in the early stages," said
Hankins. Hankins said it would be too expensive for the county to run
the jail and the sheriff and the county is too busy to do so.
November 29, 2005 Greenwood Commonwealth
Carroll County District Attorney Doug Evans soon will receive the
results of the state Highway Patrol's investigation into the death of
Debbie Denise Loggins, a patrol spokeswoman says. "All
investigative findings, including autopsy results, will be forwarded to
the district attorney's office within the next few days," Delores
Lewis said in a written statement Monday. She had been arrested for
fighting and was driven from the sheriff's office in Carrollton to
Grenada. She was, according to Lewis, "unresponsive upon arrival at
Grenada County Correctional Services Corp., a private prison in
Grenada."
November 29, 2005 Sun Herald
An autopsy is complete on the body of a North
Carrollton woman who died in September after being found unconscious in
the back of a Carroll County Sheriff's deputy's car, the Mississippi
Highway Patrol says. "All investigative findings, including autopsy
results, will be forwarded to the district attorney's office within the
next few days," Highway Patrol spokesman Delores Lewis said. Debbie
Denise Loggins, 33, had been charged with disorderly conduct and
resisting arrest. She was unconscious when she arrived at a private
prison in Grenada, authorities said. Sheriff Don Gray has said he is
confident the final autopsy report will show Loggins' death was not due
to excessive force while she was in the custody of his deputies.
March 24, 2005 Sun
Herald
The family of an inmate who died this past weekend
during an apparent fight at the Grenada County Detention Center has
filed a lawsuit against the operators of the lockup. The jail is
operated by Correctional Services Corporation, a private prison company
headquartered in Sarasota, Fla. The lawsuit was filed Wednesday against
CSC in U.S. District Court in Oxford. It seeks unspecified damages. CSC
will have 20 days to respond. Grenada County Sheriff Alton Strider
identified the dead inmate as Kenneth Kendall, 22, of Grenada. He said
Kendall was killed Sunday night in his cell. An autopsy has been
ordered. Kendall was serving a 30-day sentence for failing to pay fines,
authorities said. Jay Westfaul, an Oxford attorney representing the
Kendall family, said Thursday that the sheriff and Grenada County are
not defendants in the lawsuit but that may change once the investigation
and autopsy are completed. "Jails and prisons should be run by
governmental entities not private corporations out to make a
profit," Westfaul said in a statement. Westfaul said the lawsuit
alleges the facility was understaffed at the time of the incident and
that Kendall was placed in an area with "hardened criminals, many
of whom were being held for capital murder."
March 22, 2005 ZWire
A young man killed during an attack in the county
jail was serving time for contempt of court, according to authorities.
The inmate beaten to death at Correctional Services Corporation (CSC)
had been in jail for the charges related to fines owed to the city.
According to Grenada County Sheriff Alton Strider, Kenneth Kendall, 22,
of Grenada was being held at CSC on contempt fines. Kendall died in what
the sheriff called an altercation with other inmates in his cell.
According to Grenada County Justice Court Clerk Brenda Mullen, a simple
assault charge against Kendall had been remanded by the county; he
remained in jail on the charge from the Grenada Police Department. The
investigation is continuing. Information about charges related to the
death was not available at press time.
Jefferson County
Downtown Jail, Beaumont, Texas
August 10, 2005 The Enterprise
Three guards at a privately managed downtown jail have been fired after
authorities decided their mistakes led to the escape last month of three
dangerous prisoners, law enforcement officials said Tuesday. The inmates
were recaptured within 25 hours of their July 10 escape. On Tuesday, the
U.S. Bureau of Prisons listed the men as being in custody at the
Beaumont federal penitentiary. Jefferson County Sheriff Mitch Woods, who
ultimately controls the jail managed by Correctional Services Corp.,
said CSC's internal investigation pointed to human error in handling
inmates as the cause of the escape, as is often the case. The
inmates - Todd Christian, David Lee Jackson and Arzell Gulley - took
advantage of their chance to leave their floor of the jail and found an
open gate when they arrived downstairs, Woods said. The sliding gate had
been left open in preparation for the arrival of inmates, Woods said.
Without the open gate, the prisoners would not have been able to leave
the jail, Woods said. The escape also prompted
meetings between the CSC warden and Beaumont police officials. Beaumont
Officer Carman Apple said police were unable to get color photos and
full information about the escapees immediately, which made for a less
effective search.
July 12, 2005 AP
Authorities have now captured all three federal prisoners who
escaped from a private jail in downtown Beaumont, police said. Todd
Christian, 26, was captured about 10:30 p.m. Monday after he knocked on the door
of a home in Beaumont's South Park section and asked to use the telephone.
Beaumont Officer Crystal Holmes, police spokeswoman, told Beaumont television
station KFDM that the homeowners managed to stall Christian until police
arrived. Arzell Gully, 34, was nabbed by police at the Port of Beaumont
seven minutes after the escape Sunday night. The second inmate caught,
David Jackson, 45, was arrested Monday morning near a hospital in Beaumont after
he was spotted by hospital security guards, Holmes said. Jackson gave
police a false name but was taken into custody and later identified by the
warden, Holmes said. The inmates at Correctional Services Corp.'s jail
used pepper spray and a shank to overpower the guards, she said. All three men were federal inmates awaiting trial who were involved in the
killing of another prisoner in 1999. Holmes said she did not have details about
the killing and whether the inmates had been convicted of other crimes.
New York Legislature
October 19, 2004 1010
Wins
He's been convicted of theft, reviled by the press and pushed from
office in a scandal that came to symbolize lax ethics in
Albany
. Roger Green is still feeling pretty good. Running
all but unopposed for the state Assembly, he's poised to retake the
Brooklyn
seat he resigned in June after pleading guilty to stealing public money
by submitting fake travel vouchers to the state. Green's legal
troubles emerged from a probe of free transportation given to lawmakers
by Sarasota, Fla.-based Correctional Services Corp.
Albany
County
prosecutors charged Green with stealing from the state by submitting
fake travel claims for expenses he never incurred when he was riding the
CSC vans. Green filed bogus claims for about 30 trips between
Albany
and
New York
, prosecutors said. Green also was among a host of current and former
state lawmakers who wrote to state officials supporting extensions of
CSC's state contracts for halfway house services. CSC received $25.4
million from the state to provide such services between 1992 and 2000. Green
was sentenced to three years' probation and ordered to pay $5,000 in
fines and restitution after admitting to two counts of petty larceny and
one count of offering a false instrument. He acknowledges using the CSC
vans but said he paid CSC for gas and asked for state reimbursement
because he did not understand the state's vague guidelines. But
good-government advocates say Green's ethical troubles and impending
return to office show a pressing need for reform. "The
system is broken," said Barbara Bartoletti, legislative director
for the League of Women Voters of New York State. "The system has
not overseen itself at all."
FORMER
INMATES of a federal community confinement center operated by defendant,
a private company under contract with the federal Bureau of Prisons,
alleged that defendant was negligent in hiring, retaining, training, and
supervising an employee whom plaintiff alleged sexually abused them.
Defendant moved for summary judgment, arguing that plaintiffs, who
failed to submit expert testimony, need expert testimony to establish a
prima facie negligence case. The court held that defendant is not
entitled to summary judgment on this ground, noting that a lay juror
could determine without expert testimony that defendant should not have
retained the employee if defendant had been placed on notice that he had
engaged in sexual misconduct with the residents of the confinement
center. The court, however, granted defendant summary judgment on the
vicarious liability issue, finding that no reasonable jury could
conclude that the employee's actions were within the scope of his
employment. (New York Law Journal, April 15, 2004)
A state assemblyman was sentenced Monday to three years probation, and
ordered to pay $3,000 restitution and a $2,000 fine in connection with a
probe into free transportation provided to lawmakers by a state
contractor. Roger Green, 54, had pleaded guilty in an Albany city court
Feb. 5 to three misdemeanor charges, including two counts of petty
larceny and one count of offering a false instrument, in connection with
charges he pocketed travel reimbursements from the state for expenses he
never incurred.
Green
acknowledged taking rides from Correctional Services Corp., but had
denied any wrongdoing, saying he gave the Florida-based prison services
company nothing in return. The
probe began after Gloria Davis, a Bronx Democrat, resigned her Assembly
seat last year and pleaded guilty to bribery. As part of a plea deal,
Davis admitted getting free rides from CSC back and forth to Albany.
Last year, the private prison company was fined a record $300,000 by the
state Lobbying Commission for failing to report it provided free
transportation and other gifts to state lawmakers.
From 1992-2000, CSC received $25.4 million from the state to
provide halfway house services to the New York prison system. The state
contracts were scrapped in 2001 after the Pataki administration said the
services were no longer needed. (Newsday, March 22, 2004)
Newton
County Correctional Center, Newton, Texas
June 2, 2006 Idaho Statesman
Correctional officers at a private Texas prison have been
disciplined for abusing Idaho prisoners this spring, the state
Correction Department said Thursday. At least half a dozen department
employees, including department Director Tom Beauclair, flew to Texas
after the department received complaints from inmates and family
members, department spokeswoman Melinda Keckler said in response to an
inquiry from the Idaho Statesman about allegations of abuse. The state
team inspected the Newton County Correctional Center in Newton, operated
by Geo Group Inc. The company disciplined security staff members in
response to the team's findings, Keckler said. "We have received
concerns from several parties, all in relation to one or two specific
incidents in the Texas facility," Keckler said. "(Department) employees
interviewed offenders and staff and observed the physical operations of
the facility, and as a result of that, some corrective action was taken
on some employees in Texas." Keckler said she could not describe the
nature of the abuse or specify how prison employees were disciplined.
The media contact for the Geo Group was on vacation and could not be
reached, and the prison's warden would not comment. Keckler said the
department is satisfied that the Newton prison is complying with its
agreement with Idaho. The state has turned to out-of-state prisons to
handle inmate overflow from Idaho's jam-packed prisons. In mid-March,
150 prisoners were moved to the Texas prison. Since then, 270 more Idaho
prisoners have been transferred from the Prairie Correctional Facility
in Appleton, Minn. after that private prison needed to make space for
more Minnesota prisoners. All out-of-state Idaho prisoners are now
housed at the 872-bed Newton prison, as are prisoners from Arizona and
Texas and federal immigrations and customs detainees. Josie Daniel, a
32-year-old homemaker from Fruitland, said her brother, Eddie Daniel, an
Idaho inmate transferred to Texas in April, was interviewed by
Correction Department employees in response to abuses he and six other
prisoners suffered in early April. In a letter Josie Daniel received
from her brother April 14, he said he and six other prisoners had been
put in an isolation area without explanation for five days from April 3
to April 7. On the fifth day they were handcuffed, beaten and maced by
15 people, the letter claimed. "So these people came in ... and take
turns beating us up," Daniel wrote. "And when I say beating us I mean
beating us, kicking us in the face ... They went cell to cell during
this." According to the letter, the beatings of the prisoners stopped
when the warden intervened. Eddie Daniel also said food, showers and
recreation time were withheld, and beatings continued after the first
incident. "Even though we're in Texas, Idaho is still responsible for
us," he wrote. "You need to call IDOC and let them know what's going on.
Now every day they come to our cells threatening to beat us again."
Josie Daniel said she contacted at least five IDOC employees, including
Keckler, to report the abuse. Eddie Daniel is serving a six-year
sentence for drug trafficking and had already served six months of it in
Idaho, according to Josie Daniel, who served a two-year sentence herself
for grand theft that she committed when she was 19. Josie Daniel said
her brother had served five years in Idaho prisons for earlier crimes
and never complained of mistreatment or abuse. "My brother is the kind
of person that he has a lot of pride, and he's not going to ask anyone
for help," Josie Daniel said. "My heart sunk when I read this letter
because he is pleading for help." Keckler said the department had not
received any abuse complaints at the private Minnesota facility. Idaho
staffers will continue with routine checks of the Texas prison and will
investigate any future complaints, she said. "Of course whenever we have
charges of abuse we take them very seriously," Keckler said.
Northwest Detention Center, Tacoma,
Washington
November 4, 2004 Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Two people are suing a private corrections company, saying one was
viciously beaten and the other sexually harassed while they were being
held in Tacoma on federal immigration charges. Dozens of inmates
witnessed the allegedly unprovoked beating in July of Jose Mancilla
Gutierrez, 22, at the Northwest Detention Center, according to his
attorney, Gwynne Skinner. Correctional Services Corp., which operates
the detention center on the Tacoma tide flats for the federal
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, is named as the defendant in
the suit along with five of the company's guards and officials. Skinner
and her partner, Daniel Gross, filed suit in U.S. District Court last
week for Mancilla and Marisela Manzo Torres, 27, who contends that
officers sexually harassed her. Mancilla told his attorneys that
on July 5, guards ordered detainees to return to their cells. As he was
doing so, a guard identified only as Lt. McIntyre, "yelled at him
to stop." "For no justifiable reason, defendant McIntyre then
handcuffed plaintiff (Mancilla), threw him to the floor, and forcefully
put his knee into plaintiff Mancilla's back," the lawsuit says.
McIntyre then walked Mancilla to the exit and slammed his face into a
wall. The impact chipped a tooth, split his lip and caused him to bleed.
The lawsuit says McIntyre "repeatedly without justification shoved
plaintiff Mancilla against the wall." McIntyre is alleged to have
taken Mancilla into a hallway still visible to many cells, where he
"violently threw plaintiff (Mancilla) to the ground." Then,
joined by a guard identified only as Portillo, both officers
"attacked plaintiff, beating and kicking him and repeatedly hitting
his head against the floor," the lawsuit says. As the handcuffed
Mancilla begged for mercy, the beating continued and blood pooled on the
floor, the lawsuit says. Manzo also says in the lawsuit that she
suffered mistreatment at the hands of McIntyre and other officers. The
lawsuit accuses McIntyre of brushing against her "so that his arm
or other parts of his body would touch her breasts." McIntyre
passed her cell at night, "shined a flashlight over her body"
and repeatedly said "show me." She complied, lifting her
blanket, out of fear, according to the lawsuit. Manzo says that a guard
described only as officer Twogood worked in a control room during the
night shift and would engage in sexual banter with Manzo over an
intercom in her cell.
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