Whacking Wackenhut
TEXAS & LOUISIANA
Wackenhut Corrections Corporation, which operates more U.S. prisons than any other private company, has had its image blackened by recent reports of horrific treatment of juveniles in two of its facilities.
On May 9, “60 Minutes II,” the prime-time CBS News show, aired a scathing television documentary that detailed the treatment of juveniles in detention centers managed by Wackenhut in Texas and Louisiana. Gripping interviews portrayed the firm’s management and staff as insensitive and even abusive in their dealings with children in their custody.
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, but: 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, Wackenhut’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.”
The TV show also dealt with a shocking federal report on the Wackenhut-operated juvenile facility in Jena, La. There, too, the allegations involve rampant sexual and physical abuse against the young inmates.
A former clerk at the facility says he watched security officers having sex with the youths and smoking marijuana with them. The federal report accused Jena guards of habitually using excessive force, allowing inmates to fight over food and other necessities, failing to prevent sexual abuse, and providing inmates with poor medical care.
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. Wackenhut has recently announced that it will abandon the Jena facility and turn the inmates over to the state.
