Vermont inmates heading to Mississippi prison with familiar private operator

Vermont's out-of-state inmates will move to a private Mississippi prison in October following months of criticism about the conditions prisoners faced at a state-run facility in Pennsylvania. 

The new contract signed with CoreCivic, which operates Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility in Tutwiler, is for a two-year term with the option of one two-year extension. The Vermont Department of Corrections will have available 350 beds in the more than 2,600-bed facility, according to a news release issued by the department.

This move will affect the 228 Vermont inmates housed at SCI Camp Hill in Pennsylvania, where Department of Corrections' commissioners say they sent prisoners to avoid overcrowding in-state facilities.

Vermont paid about $72 per inmate per day while contracting with Pennsylvania, but the contract required payment for a minimum of 250 inmates even if the beds weren't filled.

There is no minimum headcount requirement in Mississippi, the department stated Wednesday in their announcement of the CoreCivic contract. The state will pay $71 per day per inmate during the contract's first year, and $72.99 per day per inmate in year two. If the contract is renewed for a third and fourth year, the per diem cost will go up to $75.04 and then $77.15.

More:State wants Vermont's inmates out of Camp Hill in Pennsylvania

Inmates 'happy to get out of' Pennsylvania

Vermont officials began searching for a new contract earlier this year after several inmate deaths at the Pennsylvania facility and complaints about conditions and transparency drew scrutiny from criminal justice advocates and lawmakers. 

Vermont Defender General Matt Valerio, whose department houses the Prisoners Rights Office, said as far as he can tell, Vermont's inmates are "happy to get out of there."

Sen. Dick Sears, who serves on the Joint Legislative Justice Oversight Committee, said inmates expressed excitement about heading back to a private prison. 

More:Fourth Vermont inmate who served in Pennsylvania dies at SCI Camp Hill prison

Vermont prisoners were housed from 2004 to 2015 in facilities run by CoreCivic, then known as Corrections Corporation of America, mainly in Kentucky and Arizona.

Valerio said that other than a few incidents, Vermont's inmates had a good experience with the private-prison company. He said prison management allowed inmates to do their time in a "relatively stress-free" environment.

Valerio said during the previous contract officials had been cooperative in providing access to inmates housed in their facilities and information in incident investigations. 

"I had people in the Prisoners Rights Office talking about Kentucky as being the best prison in the state of Vermont," Valerio said. 

However, he said, the experience wasn't always perfect. Burlington Free Press reported in 2004 on allegations of sexual assault by a Kentucky guard and on a riot by both Kentucky and Vermont prisoners. Valerio said the company took actions, such as firing the superintendent in the second case, to ensure that the problems were solved.

More:Vermont advocates call fee a danger to inmate health

And, sometimes Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) moved Vermont's prisoners to facilities in Tennessee, Alabama and Oklahoma.

"But, the CCA experience in Kentucky, I think, by and large, was, if we had to send people out of state at all, not a terrible thing," Valerio said. 

Criticism of the CoreCivic contract

Earlier this month, the Vermont branch of the American Civil Liberties Union raised concerns about the rumored contract negotiations with CoreCivic. Executive Director James Lyall called it a "new low." 

"The same concerns that motivated Vermont to terminate the Pennsylvania contract apply in full to this latest contract, and Vermonters should question the wisdom of moving inmates from an unacceptable situation to one that is likely to be even worse,” Lyall said.

The ACLU stated that CoreCivic has a long history of civil rights abuses and financial fraud. 

In 2013, the ACLU branch filed a lawsuit against the Corrections Corporation of America for the release of documents related to the mistreatment of Vermont prisoners. 

Related:925-bed prison proposal met with mixed reaction

Vermont's Attorney General T.J. Donovan also voiced his concern in social media posts on Sept. 13 about Vermont contracting again with a private prison company.  

"While I strongly oppose sending Vermonters to a private prison, my office is obligated under state regulations to review any state contract, not to substance, but to ensure compliance with state regulations," Donovan wrote. 

He added, "I understand the limited options we have. But we must act and find solutions to reduce our incarcerated population."

Vermont state senator: 'The hand we've gotten dealt'

The other finalist in the contract bid process was Central Falls Detention Facility Corporation of Rhode Island, which had offered space in the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility.  

More:Vermont's out-of-state inmates will move to new prison facility in October

Sears said he had hoped Vermont inmates would be housed somewhere closer to home so families could visit more easily.

Valerio said the Rhode Island facility, which is privately operated with the oversight of board members who are appointed by the mayor of Central Falls, had some of the same issues as Pennsylvania's facility, including that it is a facility meant for short-term stays.

At the same time, Sears said he was pleased that Vermont's inmates would again be subject to Vermont's laws and policies. Through the Pennsylvania contract, Vermont inmates at Camp Hill had to answer to Pennsylvania's rules. 

"I wish we had better alternatives, but this is the hand we've gotten dealt right now," Sears said. "While I've criticized the administration in a number of areas over the last two years, I don't criticize them on this one."

Sears, Valerio and Gov. Phil Scott all said the ideal situation would be to have all inmates back inside the state. The out-of-state inmate population has continued to shrink over the past decade, and Valerio said he thinks the state is at the point where it could bring inmates back immediately. 

Scott, however, said at this point, bringing all inmates back is "not feasible."

Sears said he hoped legislators could create law that will help bring all inmates back to Vermont in the next three to four years. 

"I'm not a big fan of a private prison," Sears said. "I would prefer to have them all back in Vermont and run by the Vermont state Department of Corrections, but it's just not realistic right now."

Contact Elizabeth Murray at 651-4835 or emurray@freepressmedia.com. Follow her on Twitter at @LizMurrayBFP.