Wackenhut Exposed on Prime Time
A stunning news account of abused children housed in juvenile detention facilities told the world what AFSCME has been saying for years: For-profit prisons are out of control.
On May 9, “60 Minutes II,” the prime-time CBS News show, aired a compelling television documentary that detailed the treatment of juveniles in detention centers managed by Wackenhut Corrections Corporation in Texas and Louisiana. Gripping interviews with a former inmate and family members of juvenile offenders portrayed the firm’s management and staff as insensitive and even abusive in their dealings with children in their custody. Wackenhut is one of the biggest private prison operations in the United States.
In the Coke County (Texas) Juvenile Justice Center, a 14-year-old girl was raped “almost every night” by a security officer. She didn’t speak out against the assaults because, according to her sister, the offending officer told the girl, “I’m going to kill your sister and your mom if you tell anybody.”
Wackenhut and the family settled out of court. Both parties agreed not to discuss the allegations or the settlement. Tragedy nevertheless struck: The young victim killed herself. According to her sister, she didn’t want the money; she just wanted an apology from Wackenhut.
When George Zoley, the company’s chief executive officer, was asked if the girl deserved an apology, he replied to the CBS commentator: “Not that I’m aware of. I don’t know what you mean by that.”
Allegations of rampant sexual and physical abuse against minors in the Jena (La.) Juvenile Justice Center were revealed in the news account. A former inmate who worked as a clerk at the facility says he watched security officers having sex with the youths and smoking marijuana with them. Some juveniles grew tired of the physical abuse and cut themselves with razor wire to get to the infirmary and away from the officers. When he worked as a clerk, the inmate says, he was ordered to shred documents containing complaints against the Jena staff.
The TV show also dealt with a shocking federal report on Jena. The exposé accused staff members of habitually using excessive force, allowing inmates to fight over food and other necessities, failing to prevent sexual abuse, and providing them with inadequate medical care, including treatment of substance abuse and mental health problems.
After reviewing that report and touring the facility for himself, a Louisiana juvenile-court judge removed seven boys from the institution, declaring, “These young people deserve to be treated like human beings, not animals.”
The Justice Department subsequently sued Wackenhut over the Jena situation, and department investigators suggested that part of the problem stemmed from the company’s efforts to cut costs to maximize profits.
CBS reported that Wackenhut has recently announced that it will abandon the Jena facility and turn the inmates over to the state.
