Twenty-eight prisoners from Vermont are being held out-of-state at the for-profit Florence Correctional Center in Arizona. At around noon on August 22nd, 13 of those 28 inmates began protesting. The prisoners ‘coordinated resistance’ and refused to return to their cells because they were frustrated by their increased isolation and the restrictions imposed on them by Corrections Corp. of America. While details of what transpired are unclear, prisoners allegedly “[smashed] televisions, microwaves and other equipment.” CCA’s guards responded with force and a “chemical agent.” All 13 inmates were tossed into solitary confinement as punishment, where they’ve been for the past month. There is no indication as to when CCA will let them out. The VT Department of Corrections — which paid CCA $34 million for the responsibility of incarcerating its own people — claims it doesn’t know when the private company will release the prisoners from solitary, insisting it’s CCA’s decision. If that’s not enough to convince you the DOC is unmoved by the protest, look no further than the actions they did choose to take: the department sent investigators to Florence on September 10th to inspect the prison and speak with inmates. After spending only two days at the facility, the inspectors returned home without taking action. Keep in mind that this is the second inmate protest (that we know of) at a CCA prison in the last three months. Just days before this protest in [...]
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