Washington Post just released a story that the the Justice Department plans to end use of private prisons.
The Justice Department plans to end its use of private prisons after officials concluded the facilities are both less safe and less effective at providing correctional services than those run by the government.
Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates announced the decision on Thursday in a memo that instructs officials to either decline to renew the contracts for private prison operators when they expire or “substantially reduce” the contracts’ scope. The goal, Yates wrote, is “reducing — and ultimately ending — our use of privately operated prisons.”
“They simply do not provide the same level of correctional services, programs, and resources; they do not save substantially on costs; and as noted in a recent report by the Department’s Office of Inspector General, they do not maintain the same level of safety and security,” Yates wrote.
For those who enjoy some schadenfreude with your news, Corrections Corp of America (CXW) is down 20% as I’m writing this.
I highly recommend reading Mother Jones' incredible investigative report of what it was like working as a private prison guard.