|
|
| Impact of Private Prisons Part 1: The Public Costs of a Private Riot |
| By stateimpact.npr.org - Logan Layden |
| Published: 07/25/2012 |
|
Oklahoma -- When California ran out of space to house its growing inmate population, it turned to Corrections Corporation of America, which owns private prisons in 16 states, including Oklahoma. Now there are more than 2,000 Californians locked up at the North Fork Correctional Facility in Sayre. The arrangement wasn’t supposed to cost Oklahoma anything, but a recent riot at North Fork is changing that. 46 inmates were injured before CCA guards were able to restore order in the October 2011 riot. The company isn’t saying what caused the riot, but the California inmates who started it committed crimes in Oklahoma, and will have to be prosecuted here. That task falls to Beckham County District Attorney Dennis Smith’s office. “Now, this riot will create substantial costs to us,” Smith says. “A lot of that is going to depend on how many cases we actually file. It’s already added a strain. So, for me to be able to expound exactly how much it costs – there are so many factors that go into that. How many people are prosecuted? How many are convicted? How many are actually going to serve time.” Smith oversees a five-county district, and his office is still dealing with job cuts resulting from the state budget crisis. Resources are thin, and having to possibly prosecute up to 20 riot-related violent crimes won’t help matters. “DUIs, shoplifting, burglary, we see that kind of stuff,” Smith says. “Conversely, you get into cases that we don’t deal with a lot. One of those is prison cases.” Charges are expected to be filed within weeks, but prosecution is only part of the cost to the state. Read More. |
Comments:
Login to let us know what you think
MARKETPLACE search vendors | advanced search
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
|
Have you been hurt in an accident in Waco Temple or Killeen? Our personal injury lawyers will review your claim to examine if there is enough evidence to support a lawsuit. You may be eligible to file a personal injury claim if you were involved in an accident that was caused by the negligence of someone else. Our deafness injury attorney work with personal injury experts to understand how the accident has changed your life and what money you need to go forward.
He has blue eyes. Cold like steel. His legs are wide. Like tree trunks. And he has a shock of red hair, red, like the fires of hell. His antics were known from town to town as he was a droll card and often known as a droll farceur. Hamilton Lindley with his madcap pantaloon is a zany adventurer and a cavorter with a motley troupe of buffoons.