The state Correction Department officially took back the reins of its two privatized prisons recently, marking the end of a two-year experiment that some call a flop. 
'I really felt like it was a failure,' said Rep. Paul McCrary, D-Davidson. Private prison firms 'are in the business to make money, and they're going to take some shortcuts when they can.' 
His criticism mirrors concerns raised in recent years by officials in other states with privatized prisons. But the company that ran the two North Carolina prisons, Nashville, Tenn.-based Corrections Corp. of America, said it did the best it could with a bad contract. 
'The bottom line is, [correctional officers'] posts were manned. Health care was delivered. Inmates did not suffer,' said Susan Hart, spokeswoman for the company. 
At 12:01 a.m. Sunday, the Correction Department officially resumed responsibility for running the Pamlico Correctional Facility in coastal Bayboro, east of New Bern, and the Mountain View Correctional Facility in Spruce Pine, near Boone. 
For the 528 medium-custody inmates at the two prisons, it's just another day behind bars. Most of the officers, who have been wearing state uniforms for days, will become state employees. 
CCA, the nation's largest private, for-profit prison company, was slated to run the prisons until 2003, but the prisons' troubles left both sides wanting to get out of the contract early. 
The department said it has no plans to let other companies operate North Carolina prisons. Instead, the state will let companies finance and build prisons. 
The state will lease the buildings from private owners and run the prisons -- as it will now do at the Pamlico and Mountain View facilities. 
'At this point in time, we think we are better equipped and have better resources to manage and operate facilities,' said Tracy Little, spokesman for the agency. 
Still, North Carolina isn't finished experimenting. The state plans to put its first privately run juvenile detention center in Brunswick County, but plans stalled after Texas-based firm Cornell Abraxas asked for far more than legislators expected -- $119 million to build and operate it for 10 years. 
Officials overseeing the project for the state Department of Juvenile Justice say they are trying to avoid the problems that cropped up at the Bayboro and Spruce Pine prisons. 
'Obviously, there's a concern about what's gone on with the private prisons,' said Ed Little, chief of purchasing for the N.C. Division of Purchasing Contracts, 'but right now there's been no decision on what they're going to do.'