If Joe Nacchio ends up in the slammer, he’d better hope it’s not one run by Corrections Corporation of America, though Qwest retirees just might feel particular glee at the thought of his working most of a day to pay for a roll of toilet paper.
About 480 inmates from Colorado have been transferred to CCA’s North Fork Correctional Facility in Sayre, Okla., since December, and they’re finding that hard time is a lot harder in a prison run for profit.
The inmates, all culled from state prisons based on their release dates, records for compliance and nonviolent prison histories, have been rewarded for their good behavior with lousy food, fewer visits from family members, limited access to phones, delays in mail service, a lack of access to Colorado law books and prices in the prison canteen that have been jacked up in some cases to three times those in Colorado institutions.
“It seems like minor stuff to people outside of prison, but it’s created a real powder keg,” said Christie Donner, executive director of the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition.
Parents of inmates housed at Sayre have reported that a boycott of the commissary was organized as a prison protest, and when a guard was perceived to be harassing an inmate at lunch recently, the entire room stood in solidarity.
They worry that tensions could erupt into a riot similar to what happened at the CCA prison in Crowley County in 2004.
“The guys are really upset,” said Tracy Masuga, whose son was transferred to Sayre in December.
Among the recent price hikes at the canteen were: peanut butter that sold for $1.48 in January now going for $2.34, AIM toothpaste jumping from $1.45 to $2.23, raisin bran going from $2.99 to $4.75, and a 25-watt light bulb going from $1.20 to $3.69.
In Colorado state prisons, peanut butter is $1.80, AIM toothpaste 95 cents, and banana nut granola (the closest thing to raisin bran on the commissary list) is $2.11. Toilet paper sells for 70 cents a roll in Sayre compared with 44 cents at state-run prisons.
“This might not seem like much, but we’re talking about people who make literally a dollar a day,” said Ann Aber, an attorney with the Colorado Public Defender’s office. “It’s arbitrary and inexplicable exercises of power like this that can create a really incendiary situation.”
Alison Morgan, chief of private prisons for the Department of Corrections, said a team from Colorado visited the Sayre facility this month and talked to about 200 inmates. Complaints about the price hikes were rampant, she said, but she insisted that the prisoners’ concerns were being addressed.
“The warden is looking at the commissary list and has reduced prices for about 40 items, including the price of light bulbs,” she said.
Steve Owen, spokesman for CCA, said that after a brief drop in purchases from the canteen around March 9, sales have returned to normal.
Gary Golder, director of prisons for the DOC, said CDs of Colorado statutes are on order for use in the Sayre prison library, but delivery by the vendor has been delayed.
Problems with phones, mail service and other issues will be resolved, Morgan said.
As for the food, which was described as inedible by inmates two months ago and resulted in many of them reporting significant weight loss, Morgan describes it now as “fabulous.”
“The previous food-service manager was fired.”
State Rep. Buffie McFadyen said she has heard some of the complaints, and while she is concerned, focusing on things like commissary prices and phone service ignores the larger issue.
“They shouldn’t be there at all,” said the Democrat from Pueblo West.
“Sending inmates out of state is almost guaranteeing a 100 percent recidivism rate,” said McFadyen, who has eight state prisons in her district. “We’re taking the inmates with the best track records within our system and punishing them by sending them out of state away from their families. When inmates don’t have that support system in place to help them re-enter society, it almost guarantees failure.”
McFadyen said this is all part of the private-prison system’s business plan.
“High recidivism rates ensure profits for their stockholders,” she said. “There’s no incentive to do what’s best for inmates. They profit by having them come back into the system.”
Owen called such criticism “completely false.”
“We invest a great deal in innovative programs to rehabilitate inmates,” he said. “We consider ourselves professionals.”
CCA receives $54 per day per Colorado inmate. The cost to keep comparable inmates in state institutions is $77 per day, Morgan said.
Even at 30 percent less per inmate, CCA has delivered impressive profits to shareholders. The company racked up $105.2 million in net income in 2006.
How do they do it?
“The private-prison industry makes its money out of bodies and souls,” McFadyen said.
Bodies, souls and toilet paper.
Diane Carman’s column appears Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. She can be reached at 303-954-1489 or dcarman@denverpost.com.
