Trial starts Monday in 'ghost worker' private prison lawsuit

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A private prison company accused by inmates of dangerously understaffing an Idaho prison as part of a scheme to boost profits will have a chance to present its defense to jurors Monday when a civil trial begins in Boise's U.S. District Court.

Eight inmates at the Idaho Correctional Center sued the Nashville, Tennessee-based Correction Corporation of America in 2012, contending that poor management and chronic understaffing led to an attack in which they were jumped, stabbed and beaten by a prison gang.

CoreCivic's understaffing and management of the Idaho Correctional Center has been the subject of several scandals and lawsuits in recent years, culminating in Idaho Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter's decision in 2013 to order the state to take over the prison and sever its $29 million annual contract with the company.

Top executive testimony is pretty rare in private prison litigation, said Alex Friedmann, the managing editor of prisoner rights publication Prison Legal News.