Corrections Corporation of America (CCA)

Rap Sheet

CCA in Arizona

• A prisoner in CCA’s Saguaro Correctional Center strangled his cellmate while the prison was in lockdown in June 2010. (“State to investigate killing of island inmate in Arizona,” Star Advertiser, 6/15/10).
• Saguaro houses Hawaiian prisoners in Arizona and was also the site of the stabbing death by two inmates who now face the death penalty in Arizona although Hawaii has no death penalty. Prisoners claim the prison is ‘greatly understaffed.’ (“HI inmates complain about CCA,” Hawaii News Now, 6/17/10).
• A prison employee suffered a broken nose and cheekbones as well as eye socket damage during a 30 inmate brawl over an Xbox owned by an inmate at Saguaro Correctional Center. (“Prison Employee seriously injured,” KITV4, 7/30/10).
• At Eloy Detention Center, a diabetic 62-year-old barber died of a heart ailment while he awaited deportation to his native Ghana. According to the ACLU, nine deaths have taken place in CCA’s Eloy Detention Center–most were caused by inadequate or delayed medical attention. (“Lost and Ignored,” Tucson Weekly, 2/11/10).
• While correctional officers working for state prisons receive $18-$20 an hour, CCA employees are paid less to do the same job, earning only $10-$12 an hour. CCA employees also receive 240 less hours of training than those employed by ADOC. (“CCA criticized by union, praised by Florence officials,” The Daily Currier, 12/18/09).
• A CCA employee pled guilty to drug charges in April for attempting to give prison inmates cocaine at the Central Arizona Detention Center in Florence. (“Arizona corrections officer caught buying cocaine for inmate,” ABC15, 4/21/10).
• Two prison guards were injured when a CCA prison bus transporting inmates to Mississippi rear ended another vehicle along Interstate 10. (“Van carrying inmates crashes on I-10 at Avra Valley,” KOLD, 9/29/10).
• A prison guard at Saguaro Correctional Center and two other men broke into a Pima County home wielding guns and was fatally shot by a neighbor as attempted to flee. (“Suspect in deadly invasion was a prison guard,” AP, 7/22/09).

Governor Jan Brewer and CCA: Working Together

• Governor Jan Brewer’s top political advisor Chuck Coughlin is also president of Highground Public Affairs Consultants, which also provides lobbyists for CCA.   (“Ties that Bind,” In These Times, 6/21/10).
• Governor Brewer’s spokesman Paul Senseman was previously employed by CCA, and his wife is currently employed as a lobbyist for the corporation.  (“Ties that Bind,” In These Times. 6/21/10).
• CCA donated to Governor Brewer’s re-election campaign and contributed a whopping $60,000 to Proposition 100, the controversial sales tax initiative supported by Brewer. (“Governor Brewer’s CCA Ties Burn Like Neon,” Phoenix New Times, 7/29/10).

• CCA stands to benefit greatly from SB1070, as more undocumented people are turned over to ICE it is likely that they will be sent to one of CCA’s three detention facilities in Arizona. (“Governor Brewer’s CCA Ties Burn Like Neon,” Phoenix New Times, 7/29/10).

CCA Lets Loose

• An inmate from a Tennessee CCA prison escaped in June 2009 with the help of his cousin. While attempting to flee to Louisville, he shot police officer, Sgt. Mark Chesnut six times. The police officer now suffers from life-altering injuries. (“KY man found guilty in officer shooting,” AP, 9/22/10).
• A woman accused of assaulting a police officer escaped from a CCA facility in Youngstown, Ohio the same day she arrived there. (“CCA inmate escapes,” AP, 5/11/10).
• A man escaped during transport from his prison cell to the United Medical Center in Washington, D.C. CCA is investigating how the inmate was able to remove his restraints. (“DC inmate escapes on way to hospital,” AP, 3/11/10).
• An inmate was discovered missing during a headcount at a CCA prison in Tennessee. The inmate abducted a woman at a market, stole her car, and fled to Georgia where he was finally captured. (“Escapee from CCA prison captured in Georgia,” The Tennessean, 12/28/09).
• CCA believed that a missing inmate at a Tennessee prison was hiding from them until it was discovered that the inmate (a notorious escape artist) had slipped out through the ventilation system. CCA waited two days before issuing a warrant. (“CCA waited before issuing warrant on escapee Terrell Watson last seen in the prison on Sunday,” WSMV, 2/21/08).

Welcome to Gladiator School

• There have been 11 reported incidents since May at CCA’s Idaho Correctional Center. In the month of April alone there were six reported incidents. These incidents range from weapons found in showers, homemade alcohol, stolen items, and multiple fights requiring serious medical attention. (“Assaults at ICC Accelerate,” Boise Weekly, 6/2/10).
• The ACLU filed a federal prisoner civil rights action against the Idaho Correctional Center. The law suit included 23 assaults and claims that the correctional center has created a culture of violence prompting the prison to be nicknamed ‘gladiator school’ by the inmates. (“Assaults at ICC Accelerate,” Boise Weekly, 6/2/10).
• A former inmate has filed a lawsuit against CCA in Boise claiming that he suffered brain damage during an attack that lasted so long that the attacker had to stop, catch his breath, and drink water before he continued. Corrections officers at the Idaho Correctional Center failed to step in even during this lull. The inmate was taken to the hospital where he was diagnosed with traumatic subarachnoid brain hemorrhage. (“Inmate Sues CCA,” AP, 4/27/10).

American Friends Service Committee

103 N Park, Suite 111, Tucson, AZ 85719

Phone:  (520) 623-9141

Fax:  (520)623-5901

afscaz@afsc.org

afsc.org/tucson