Indiana Prison Riot Shows Failures in Privatization. GOP Gov./ex-Bush Official got his $53 M worth

A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS

What happens when Arizona convicts are locked up in an Indiana prison managed by a Florida corrections company? A "full scale riot," that's what.

Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels - Bush's first Office of Management and Budget director - signed a $53 million contract with Florida-based GEO Group to manage the prison, then a $6.1 million contract to house convicts from Arizona starting last March. These interstate inmates were kept separate from their Indiana counterparts and subjected to worse treatment than they had been accustomed to before being "shipped off to Indiana against their will and with little notice, including some who said they were roused from their beds in the middle of the night and told to pack."

It is almost a wonder they lasted as long as a month and a half before assaulting guards, breaking windows, and setting things on fire. Especially when two other recent uprisings have been caused in recent years by Arizona inmates alone.

"First and foremost, this is a tragedy, but it's also an absolute disgrace," said Indiana Democratic Party Chair Dan Parker, in a prepared statement. "Mitch Daniels has sold off everything he can, and this is a real-life example of the risks and consequences of privatization."

More here: http://www.buzzflash.com/articles/analysis/208

Indiana... birthplace of the KKK and carrying that 'tradition' into the 21st century.

There are govt entities that should NEVER be privatized - prisons are definitely one of those entities.

K&R...

Private prisons, free labor for corporations... and the private companies get federal money for each prisoner. Really makes it appealing for a state to collect as many prisoners as possible. Bad news all the way around.

"EX" is the operative term, I believe. Whatta regressive state.

On edit: I meet more than ex-Illinois'ers (like me)..and that's sayin somthing.