Kentucky is not alone regarding its flawed prison system. Other states face the same problems, such as overcrowding, operating over budget, poor oversight, and the issue of privatization. In Kentucky, questions are being raised, and answers demanded.
According to the Louisville Courier-Journal, Kentucky’s state-run prisons are at, or above, capacity levels. R.G. Dunlop, in his July 4, 2010 Courier-Journal article reported that this year Kentucky allocated almost $500 million for corrections in the state budget, yet there is still overcrowding. While some advocate for privately run prisons to house inmates to ease overcrowding, Dunlop reports that private prisons cost the same as state-run prisons, but private prisons may present more problems for the system.
The Courier-Journal reported that Otter Creek Correctional Center, had “significant gaps in state oversight” for a period of three months during 2008 and 2009. Otter Creek is run by the huge private prison company, Corrections Corp. of America. Problems at Otter Creek, a female prison at the time, included sexual abuse by male staff, sub-standard health care, and maintenance issues such as human waste coming up through the shower drains. CCA was paid $21 million by Kentucky in the last fiscal year.
Justice secretary J. Michael Brown defended utilizing private prisons by claiming Kentucky does not have any other place else to put prisoners. Speaking to the Courier-Journal, Brown claimed that the state does not have “very many really good options,” and therefore a collaboration with CCA was the “best choice.”
Attorney Michele Deitch, a law professor at the University of Texas, disagrees with Brown, claiming that private prisons can breach security regulations by hiring inexperienced people at low wages in an effort to cut operating costs. “When you’ve got inexperienced, poorly trained staff, you’ve got a recipe for security and safety problems in a prison.”, Deitch told the C-J.
University of Kentucky law professor, Robert Lawson agrees with Brown on the overcrowding issue. In his report on Kentucky’s prison population, Lawson had concerns about the state’s oversight ability, but conceded that private prisons are necessary in the state. But a July 11, 2010 editorial in the Courier-Journal offers a different solution to the problem of overcrowding.
The C-J editorial advocates amending sentencing laws so that non-violent offenders would be sentenced to lesser amounts of time than currently handed out. Less time for non-violent offenders would not only free up space in prisons, but would also rid the state of contracts with private prisons, according to the editorial. This huge amount of money could be better used for other purposes. The editorial concludes that legislators should not worry about being viewed as “soft on crime,” but should look for practical solutions to a very real problem.
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