Privatization Proven to be a Failure
Bush Republicans will read this story and rejoice, a child molester dying in his own squalor, what could be better.
BOISE, Idaho - After months alone in his cell, Scot Noble Payne finished 20 pages of letters, describing to loved ones the decrepit conditions of the prison where he was serving time for molesting a child.
Then Payne used a razor blade to slice two 3-inch gashes in his throat. Guards found his body in the cell’s shower, with the water still running.
“Try to comfort my mum too and try to get her to see that I am truly happy again,” he wrote his uncle. “I tell you, it sure beats having water on the floor 24/7, a smelly pillow case, sheets with blood stains on them and a stinky towel that hasn’t been changed since they caught me.”
However, what they want to ignore in this story, what they want you not to pay attention to, is how privatization has FAILED.
More than 140,000 U.S. prison beds are in private hands, and inmates’ rights groups allege many such penitentiaries tolerate deplorable conditions and skimp on services to increase profits.
“They cut corners because the bottom line is making money,” said Caylor Rolling, prison program director at Partnership for Safety and Justice in Portland, Ore., a group that promotes prison alternatives.
...Soon after Payne’s suicide, the Idaho Department of Correction’s health care director inspected the prison and declared it the worst facility he had ever seen. Don Stockman called Payne’s cell unacceptable and the rest of the Dickens County Correctional Center “beyond repair.”After Idaho’s complaints, GEO reassigned warden Ron Alford, who told the AP he was later fired. He insisted GEO did not provide enough money to make necessary improvements. “They denied me everything. To buy a pencil with GEO, it took three signatures. They’re cheap,” Alford said in an interview. He disputes Stockman’s findings on his treatment of Idaho inmates.
So, there you have it. Privatization results in care that is based on profit alone. Towels are used for SEVEN months without being washed, sheets with blood stains are what you sleep on every night, pools of water are found on the floor of your closet-sized cell.
The next time you read about how privatization of social security is the answer, link to the story of seven-month old dirty towels. The next time you hear about how private insurance is the key to the uninsured crisis, remember that your insurance is the equivalent of a seven-month old dirty towel to the private companies.
Privatization only makes sense when profit IS the only purpose. Not when the commodity is health and well being.
- Robert P.'s blog
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Free market popsicles.
would only be frozen if you were rich.
John Edwards is great!
- Sam Spencer, BlueNC, 7/3/07
Law & Order makes massive profits off the poor!
Privatization only makes sense when profit IS the only purpose. Not when the commodity is health and well being.
Classic state fascism at work! The Prison Fascism industrial complex is a huge Corporate killer at work. You will find most of the private prison corporations [ ie ...stock markert] is own mostly by rich Republician investors. It is the 2nd most growth industry in this county next to the Military Industrial Complex. Of the 34 prisons in Iraq, 32 are run by the same corporations here.
For more massive info on the subject, these folks are the front line fighters against State fascist prisons in this county. Support them if you can.
http://www.prisonlegalnews.org
" The degree of civilzation can be judge by observing it's prisoners" * Dostoyevsky after doing a little time in the Imperial Russia dentention system.
Where was the state
oversite for this prison? It took an inmate to die for someone to come review this site? Where is the budget for this facility? Where is the oversite of the budget?
If it takes 3 sigs for a pencil, then sign the documents. If you fail to ask within the guidlines established, you are at fault. In this case, I would have looked at all the requisitions for items, tallied up the disapproved and approved requisitions to determine part of the story. It sounds like I would not have seen alot of requisitions.
This article wishes to have me belief that noone from outside this prison has not visitied this facility?
No prisoner has gotten out and screamed about the conditions?
It took someone committing suicide for the conditions to show up?
The administration of the facility and the oversite body of this site failed.
Prisons are suppose to be places where people go as punishment and not for punishment.
This facility does not have a laundry service?
Based on this, the prisoners are walking around in dirty filthy uniforms. When these guys have to go to court for various reasons, are they washed down with a hose to make them smell better?
Others knew about this before this guy killed himself.
Privatization will work, but oversite has to happen. That is what failed here.
Oversite would have seen these conditions.
Blame the state corrections system for this as this facility is working for the state and local governments.
Blame the families of the inmates for failing to bring these conditions to the state when they visited these inmates. Look at Walter Reed for what happens when deplorable conditions are brought to ones attention.
Blame the inmates that where released who failed to bring these conditions to light.
Blame the guards for allowing this to happen.
There is enough blame within the state to go around. Blame apathy first, then blame privitization.
Prisons are needed. Those who feel they are not, let the next convicted child molesting murderer live next to your children with no controls. You will be screaming for jail time for that monster.
Having your liberties striped of you is a valid form of punishment. Being forced to live in a cell that meets the minimum requirements for living is a valid form of punishment. Prisons should be places where people do not ever wish to go. But when someone in our society has done something that society has deemed inappropriate warrenting prison, then put them in there AS their punishment. If we treat them as animals while they are in prison, they will come out as animals. Placing someone in a cell in itself is not treating someone like an animal. It is giving them what they asked for.
No way.
This is bull. I am sure that the families complained at every available opportunity. Also, don't forget that these are inmates from Idaho being housed in rural Texas. I'm sure, given the socioeconomic status of our prison population that many of them never had any family that was able to visit. Also, I am sure that inmates complained about their conditions, as the article suggests, but that they fell on dead ears.
Walter Reed didn't happen because of patients and families complaining, it happened because a major news organization decided to investigate it. As they have in this case.
Your attitude reminds me of the people I grew up with, rural conservatism that feels everyone should stand up for themselves, bootstraps and all that happy crap. Yet, not a one of the people I grew up with ever spent any time in an inner city, nor do so many rural conservatives see the irony that their lives depend on government handouts for farm subsidies, roads, schools, parks, police, firefighters, etc.
You actually hit the nail on the head in the first paragraph, where is the oversight? There is no oversight when you privatize something. At least not in the head of Republicans, which we assume approved this since it involved Idaho and Texas. Privatization equals NO government oversight.
Kind of like the OLF? Others, those living where it was going to be hatched, knew about it. So, why did we need newspaper articles and people visiting BlueNC asking for our help? Others knew about it, take your own words and apply them to the OLF. The Navy had oversight working on the OLF - how did that turn out? Crooked business is crooked business.
Just because something should be done by the government doesn't mean it will be done correctly. But, at least it SHOULD take profit out of the equation. THAT, is the point. Everything can be screwed up either publicly or privately, but there are certain things that cannot be run correctly privately. Period.
John Edwards is great!
- Sam Spencer, BlueNC, 7/3/07
Oversite is critical,
in the OLF issue, the Navy was trying to be their own oversite. That does not work. Once the "little people" truely found out what the Navy was trying to do, and we saw that we where part of the oversite process, things started to change. Folks of the region did what they had to make a diffrence. We did not stand around looking for someone else to fix this problem. We insisted that the oversite of this program did the job correctly. We brought the problem to the light of day, explained what was happening and what was needed. We asked for assistance from our fellow citizens and the state saw that what was happening to us was inappropriate on the Navy's part. Many folks had the opportunity to roll over and ignore this OLF, but we did not. We are standing up to the Navy and requiring them to properly perform their job and to follow the rules of this land. We are doing exactly what I am advocating should happen for this prison. People see a problem, find out how it should be done, then expect things to be run accordingly.
The Navy is not crooked, just making a decision that is inappropriate for the defense of the country.
If Idaho went down to Texas routinely and checked up on their inmates, these problems whould have been identified and steps would have been started to correct these problems. I am not defending GEO. I do not approve of how this organization handled people entrusted to their care. Both Idaho and GEO are responsible for what happened. If the Texas correction system was empowered for oversite, then Texas is also responsible for these conditions. This article did not mention the responsibility of Texas in this arrangement.
A prison can be run privately, it just requires a proper plan and people who care to followup on their responsibilities. It requires people to care about the humans under their control. It requires the understanding that without controls, humans will oppress those that are completly dependant on them as found in a prison environment. When I was trained as a prison guard in the Navy, these ideas were ingrained in me with respect to the prisoners under my control.
The company in question must be watched and the state must be committed to prisoner rights in private facilities. I would hope Idaho has a stronger understanding of this now.
If this prison was being run in North Carolina and inmates and family members of these inmates where to have brought this problem to us, we as a state, or at least this website and other websites would have insisted prisoner rights where being recognized and honored. That is what I am advocating, the rights of the prisoners must be supported and these people must be treated according to accepted prison standards. These standards can be run privately as well as under government control with proper oversite.
Privatization still requires government oversite and this oversite is incorporated in the overall process.
Profits are the bottom line of any private bussiness, but laws must be followed when pursuing these profits. GEO bent these laws and could possibly have broken them. This article did not indicate any legal actions against this company for breaking any laws.
I'm sorry, Parmea
I don't trust private industries, who are in it to make a profit, after all, to care about the human beings in their charge. What you describe above has an awful lot of government oversight in it. Honestly, I think the government (when it's the right government and not the current whack jobs in charge) does a better job at running things like prisons, hospitals, schools, and post offices than private, for profit companies.
Seriously - think of the military. Isn't it better that there is governmental oversight? Or should it all be like Blackwater?
I use a private company....
to store data in an off-site facility.
I use a private company to fix my car (damn you car companies for taking away the carburetor and my ability to work on cars!!!).
I use private companies to grow my food.
Private companies are great. Okay? And, you are probably right that private prisons COULD work, but what this story shows us is why privatization of caring for people's lives and health DOESN'T work.
You think Republicans want more oversight? More gument interference in their doings? No way. This case is a perfect example of what has and what WILL happen when government actions are privatized.
John Edwards is great!
- Sam Spencer, BlueNC, 7/3/07
See, if you read the whole sentence
you'd see what I really said.
This is what I said.
Private companies are great at dealing with products. Products can be replaced, or you can be reimbursed for their loss. When it comes to people, I want to be dealing with a company/agency that has a bit more oversight than, say, Haliburton.
I was agreeing with you, sorry I didn't make that clear.
I was adding my voice to what you had said, in disagreement with parmea above.
John Edwards is great!
- Sam Spencer, BlueNC, 7/3/07
Sorry - I misunderstood. too.
sometimes internet communication is less than adequate. :)
I am advocating
protection of people. Of prisoner rights. Of oversite. Of accepting responsibility.
If privitazation is done right, it will be transparent to all.
I am saying that GEO failed but I am saying that the State of Idaho failed also. If Idaho would have been reviewing ALL of their prisons their inmates are incarcerated in, this problem would have been identified.
I will acknowledge that it would be easier to oppress, mistreat, harm and to show general apathy toward prisoners in a privitized penetentary. That is why I place equal blame on the state of Idaho for not realizing this. When the bottom line is the dollar, nothing else is important. For Idaho, this was as a true statement till recently with regard to their prison system as well as GEO.
The government
is better at running the military, but even the government pays $900 for a hammer. I saw the price of a 40 MEG harddrive at $3000 in the early 90s. The same drive one could buy for about $100 at the time.
I would not have served 22 years under blackwaters control or system. I am a sailor, not a mercenary. I served to protect, not for profit.
Of course.
And I'm grateful that you did. Thank you.
You make valid points. There are private companies that soak our government for $900 hammers; and lack of oversight, or bought and paid for government officials don't say a word. I'm not saying that it is perfect. I just think that by keeping it in the public sector, we have a better chance of fixing it.
Isn't this what they are trying to do?
Sounds to me like you don't want the people fighting for a better prison system to do the same thing you did? Bring it to the attention of their fellow citizens nationwide.
John Edwards is great!
- Sam Spencer, BlueNC, 7/3/07
Children, elderly, prisoners
Isn't there an old quote that goes something like "the measure of a society is in how they treat children, the elderly and prisoners"? When we incarcerate someone we're making a contract that, in this case, wasn't upheld. Same for taking care of the mentally ill, the destitute elderly and the uninsured child. Of course, my concerns are biased towards making improving the measure of our society - the profit motive tends to diminish quality to increase returns.
CitizenWill
there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular, but he must do it because Conscience tells him it is right. MLK,Jr. to SCLC Leadership Class
I Am So Sorry -
that I read this first thing in the morning.
I'm glad I haven't eaten or had coffee. It would have soured my stomach for the rest of the day.
One must first decide: what is the goal of a prison sentence?
Punishment? Rehabilitation? Isolation?
It isn't torture til they die or kill themselves. There may be disagreement on the others but it is never torture.
Never in our names.
I think I'll pass today, guys. This gave me a headache.
Morally when you imprison someone,
you (as the state) have agreed to be responsible for the health and well being of that individual while incarcerated. I don't care if it's a murderer, child abuser or an "insurgent", the government has ultimately got to be held to account no matter who runs the prison. If privatization means there's another degree of separation from that responsibility, then it should be abolished.