Oklahoma almost ended private prisons, contract comes in at last minute
LAWTON, Okla. (KFOR) - Just a few days before the contract ended, the owner of two private prisons in Oklahoma announced their partnership with the state on Wednesday.
This came after a heated back-and-forth the last week or so between the state and the owner GEO Group. They run two correctional facilities, one in Lawton and one in Hinton. Altogether they house around 4,700 inmates.
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"These guys are not safe inside," said Emily Barnes to KFOR. Barnes is the founder of Hooked on Justice, an advocacy non-profit that helps inmates and their families.
Last week, Governor Stitt called out the Lawton facility as one of the most violent in the state and said, "GEO hasn't improved, yet asked for millions more in taxpayer funding. Enough is enough."
On Thursday, the Oklahoma Department of Corrections (ODOC) responded to the GEO Group following a submission letter of discontinuation to the department and the Oklahoma Senate.
ODOC stated at the time that they and the GEO Group, which operates the Lawton Correctional Facility, have been engaged in ongoing contract negotiations. They stated that is unclear why the GEO Group felt the need to elevate the talks to the state level.
GEO group responded with, "Unfortunately, the recent veto of funding that was approved by the Oklahoma State Legislature will only exacerbate our significant challenges."
"GEO is a lot to blame but at the same time DOC needs to take part in the blame because of their inmates," said Barnes.
The last day for their contract would have been June 30, but on Tuesday GEO Group said they reached a year extension with the state.
"GEO has pledged to actively work to reduce violence, provide more access to programs, and grant more out-of-cell time for the inmates. The Lawton facility has been plagued by violence, inmate deaths, and lockdowns. It contains the state’s only protective custody unit." the company said in a statement Wednesday.
There were rumors over the last couple of days that the state might have to send their inmates to locations out of state which would cost the taxpayer and the family of inmates.
"A lot of people can't afford to go see their family members now so to move them out of state, it just makes visiting harder for family members," said Barnes.
Barnes was excited to see the potential ending of both facilities with GEO Group at the head, but that was before GEO Group announced this week that wasn't happening yet.
“This does not mean the facility will return to the status quo,” explained ODOC Director Steven Harpe. “We are putting more procedures in place to ensure safety for our incarcerated population.”
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As part of the agreement, ODOC will reduce the number of inmates housed at LCRF. With the population reduction, GEO has pledged to actively work to reduce violence, provide more access to programs, and grant more out-of-cell time for the inmates.
The press release indicated a much smaller population with the new year.
“We are particularly pleased with the department's collaborative effort in agreeing to reduce the overall facility population to 2,388 inmates. This decision will significantly enhance our ability to address and manage inmate incidents," said George Zoley, GEO’s Executive Chairman.
The Board of Correction approval allows the contract to move forward in the process to be approved by the Attorney General's office and executed by ODOC.