(Update) Pimps for Private Prisons and Profit

Posted by AzBlueMeanie:

The state of Arizona is poised to award a lucratrive private prison contract on September 16, despite the Department of Corrections failure to comply with Arizona law. (Arizona law requires the department to conduct a cost-benefit analysis comparing state and private prisons every two years, which has never been done). The American Friends Service Committee is going to do something about it. Quakers threaten lawsuit over private prisons – Arizona Capitol Times (subscription required):

A Quaker organization and a West Valley advocacy group are making last-minute efforts to stop the state from building private prisons.

American Friends Service Committee, a social action arm of the Quaker faith, notified the Attorney General’s Office today it intends to sue to keep the Department of Corrections from awarding contracts to build private prisons to house 5,000 inmates. The contract award is scheduled for Sept. 16. Four companies have bid to build prisons at five possible sites.

Stacy Scheff, a Tucson attorney representing the group, said she is going to ask a Maricopa County Superior Court judge to prevent the state from awarding the contracts until the completion of a required cost-benefit analysis comparing state and private prisons.

[Department of Corrections Director Charles Ryan said the department is working on the study and it should be complete no later than January.]

The group has scheduled a press conference for Monday at 1:30 p.m. in the House of Representatives.

In other developments:

Westmarc, a coalition of 15 West Valley communities, sent a letter to the department opposing the proposed Goodyear location for one of the new prisons.

The Goodyear City Council has also passed a resolution opposing the prison and individual members have threatened to sue if a site is located in the city.

UPDATE: The American Friends Service Committee filed suit on Monday. A ruling on a request for a temporary restraining order could come as early as Tuesday. Lawsuit aims to block Arizona private-prison plans:

A group opposed to privatizing prisons filed suit Monday seeking to block, at least temporarily, state plans to contract for 5,000 new private-prison beds as early as Friday.

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Besides requesting a temporary restraining order, the suit filed in Maricopa County Superior Court accuses Arizona's Department of Corrections of failing to follow two state statutes:

– State law requires that any private-prison contract either save money or provide better services for the same cost as state-run prisons. Cost comparisons done by Corrections every year since 2005 consistently show that private prisons are more expensive, the suit noted.

– Corrections has failed for decades to carry out biannual studies, required by law, comparing the performance of private vs. state prisons on security, safety, how inmates are managed, programs and services, and many other issues.

The Corrections Department declined to comment on the suit. Corrections officials previously have admitted that the biannual studies have not been done.

* * *

The group asked the court to issue a temporary restraining order stopping Corrections from awarding any contract, at least until it completes its first biannual cost-benefit comparison study. The suit also asks the court to force the department to disclose the details of all of its current contracts with private-prison operators.

A ruling on the temporary restraining order is expected as early as Tuesday.