Autumn Miller, the mother of the deceased baby, who was named Gracie, filed a federal lawsuit against CCA on March 8, 2013. See: Miller v. CCA, U.S.D.C. (N.D. Tex.), Case No. 3:13-cv-01022-L.
According to an investigative report by CBS 11, at least eight prisoners have died at the Dawson State Jail since 2004. One of those deaths involved diabetic prisoner Pam D. Weatherby, 45. An internal CCA document indicated that jail staff “did not follow proper procedures, in that they did not call a medical professional and advise them of the offender vomiting, prior to the medical staff arriving” at the facility. Weatherby died in July 2011; she was serving one year for drug possession. Her family has since filed a wrongful death suit against CCA. See: Alfano v. CCA, U.S.D.C. (N.D. Texas), Case No. 3:11-cv-01006-P.
“Private prisons siphon public taxpayer dollars into corporate profit,” noted PLN managing editor Alex Friedmann. “They slash [medical] services to funnel money to their shareholders and executives, and people die. Even when we don’t need these for-profit prisons, they are rarely shuttered until the scandals reach critical mass.”
“Prisons and jails operated by CCA and other profit-making corporations have been responsible for dozens of scandals around Texas,” added Bob Libal, director of Grassroots Leadership, a non-profit organization that opposes prison privatization. “In the last ten years alone, there have been instances of medical neglect, sexual abuse, and preventable suicide in private facilities in Austin, Bartlett, Beaumont, Big Spring, Bronte, Dallas, Del Rio, Eden, Encinal, Falfurrias, Fort Worth, Henderson, Liberty, Littlefield, Pearsall, Pecos, Raymondville, Spur, Taylor, Texarkana, and Waco.”
The Texas legislature is currently debating whether to discontinue state funding for the Dawson State Jail and another CCA-run facility, the Mineral Wells Pre-Parole Transfer Facility. State Senator John Whitmire wants to close the two prisons, citing a surplus of 12,000 empty prison beds, and neither facility was funded in the Senate’s 2014-15 budget. The House’s budget similarly cut funding, and the Texas Board of Criminal Justice will decide which prisons to close, which will likely include the Dawson State Jail.
In its public records lawsuit against CCA, PLN is seeking a declaratory judgment regarding the company’s violation of the Public Information Act, a writ of mandamus requiring CCA to produce the requested records, and attorney fees and costs.
“CCA hides the truth about its management because it knows the truth is horrific,” said McGiverin. “But they won’t get away with it. Texans know how to keep the government accountable. Our laws entitle us to check the State’s homework and keep it honest. At Dawson State Jail and beyond, we intend to show CCA it is not above the law.” See: Prison Legal News v. CCA, Travis County District Court (TX), Case No. D-1-GN-13-001445.
Sources: TCRP press release (May 1, 2013), Texas Tribune, Dallas Morning News, www.dfw.cbslocal.com
(First published by Prison Legal News and used here by permission)
Published Nov 26, 2013 by Christopher Zoukis, JD, MBA | Last Updated by Christopher Zoukis, JD, MBA on Jul 27, 2023 at 11:08 am
