(Update) Pimps For Private Prisons and Profit

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

Today is the day that the state of Arizona was to award a contract to one of four bidders to build 5,000 new private prison beds in Arizona, despite the Department of Corrections never having complied with Arizona law requiring it to conduct a cost-benefit study. This matter is now in litigation and the judicious course to follow would be to delay the bid process until the court has had the opportunity to rule on the merits of the case. This does not appear to be what the pimps for private prisons and profit intend to do, however.

The American Friends Service Committee's request for a temporary restraining order against the Department of Corrections was denied by a judge on Wednesday. Arizona judge refuses to block private prison beds:

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Arthur Anderson denied a request by the American Friends Service Committee for a temporary restraining order against the Department of Corrections, pending a hearing Tuesday on an [permanent] injunction filed by the committee. That injunction seeks to block Corrections from contracting for more private-prison beds until the department completes a comprehensive cost-benefit study of private vs. state-run prisons, due to be completed by January.

Corrections officials have said they may announce as early as Friday the award of one or more contracts for up to 5,000 new private-prison beds. The committee had requested the restraining order to stop Corrections from awarding any contracts before its [permanent] injunction is considered. The committee's Arizona program director, Caroline Isaacs, called on Corrections to voluntarily hold off on any award until after the hearing. Corrections declined to comment on the injunction.

Awarding the contract today would constitute bad faith. I would hope that the attorneys representing the Department of Corrections advise their client not to proceed today in light of the hearing on the merits for a permanent injunction next Tuesday.

On Thursday, House Minority Leader Chad Campbell issued this press release:

STATE CAPITOL, PHOENIX – House Minority Leader Chad Campbell urged Republican leaders today to put a hold on building private prisons and form a committee to investigate the Arizona Department of Corrections’ failure to comply with state law.

Campbell sent letters to Gov. Jan Brewer, state Department of Corrections director Chuck Ryan and House Speaker Andy Tobin.

“I urge you to cease and desist the procurement of 5,000 additional private prison beds until the cost-benefit and performance analysis required by law is completed and after enhanced security, training and monitoring policies are in place and shown to be effective at all existing private facilities,” Campbell wrote in a letter to Brewer and Ryan.

Campbell asked Tobin to form a committee to investigate the non-compliance if Brewer and Ryan continue to break the law.

Ryan and Brewer illegally ignored completing reports and analysis that would have provided valuable information on how private prisons in Arizona compare to state-run prisons on cost, safety, quality and security. (See the Arizona Republic’s story.)

Last summer, murderers escaped from a lax-security private prison near Kingman and fatally shot two people and left their bodies to burn in New Mexico.

“Even after an innocent, vacationing couple was brutally murdered thanks to Arizona’s private prison security failures, Gov. Brewer still won’t follow the law and ensure public safety in our state and the states around us,” Campbell said. “We need accountability in our prison system and families deserve safety and security.”