The American Correctional Association has accredited two private prisons that have had almost continuous problems with the state Department of Corrections since they began housing medium-security Georgia inmates almost two years ago.
The Coffee Correctional Facility at Nicholls and the Wheeler Correctional Facility at Alamo received perfect scores from auditors for the trade association, which sets standards for state prison systems.
'With the institutions being accredited by that body, it means we have passed an intensive . . . audit,' said Susan Hart, spokeswoman for the Corrections Corporation of America.
Each prison is designed to hold 1,500, but the Georgia DOC has capped the number of inmates at each prison at 1,000 until CCA corrects several problems such as a lack of inmate discipline, altered or incomplete inmate medical records and security lapses. Corrections spokesman Mike Light said the situation is improving and 'CCA has met or is close to meeting our requirements.'
Meanwhile, CCA is building two more prisons in Georgia and it has plans for a third, even though there are no contracts for state prisoners. Hart said the CCA is negotiating with the federal government to send 1,500 'criminal illegal aliens' to the McRae Correctional Facility in Telfair County or the Stewart Correctional Facility outside Lumpkin.