On Monday, Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) announced it acquired four residential re-entry facilities from another private contractor for $13.5 million. According to a company press release, the re-entry facilities each have about 600 beds and were leased by Community Education Centers, Inc. (CEC) to the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections and the Philadelphia Prison System.

The Supreme Court ruled against GEO Group and CCA, which sought to block the release of records related to their government contracts.

Corrections departments conduct searches and introduce policies to diminish contraband, but such efforts arguably play a role in preserving the market.

The Tennessee Department of Corrections is threatening and intimidating corrections officers speaking out against dangerous work conditions, according to a letter [PDF] published on August 27 by the American Civil Liberties Union of Tennessee. The organization asked the DOC to clearly state it will not seek to silence or retaliate against employees for their speech.

A new report by In The Public Interest (ITPI) illustrates how private companies that operate prisons or services within prisons use correctional associations to gain intimate access to decision makers in government — almost entirely off the books. Private companies pay millions of dollars each year to attend their conferences, lead trainings and workshops, give speeches, and advertise their products and services to law enforcement officials in attendance.

For at least the second time this year, an inmate has died at a private prison away from home. The Associated Press reports corrections officials in Hawaii have announced an investigation into the death of 21-year-old Jonathan Namauleg of Maui, who died last week at the Saguaro Correctional Center in Eloy, Arizona. Saguaro is operated by Corrections Corporation of America (CCA).

An Austin City Council member was denied access to T. Don Hutto Residential Center, where he attempted to visit a woman who reported sexual assault by a guard.

An incarcerated immigrant woman, who alleged sexual harassment and assault by a corrections officer, said she was thrown in solitary confinement for 60 hours and was told she would not be released until she publicly recanted her accusations. Laura Monterrosa is a 23 year old immigrant from El Salvador detained

A twenty-three year-old immigrant woman from El Salvador attempted suicide at a private immigration detention center in Texas after learning she may face punishment for avoiding a guard who sexually abused her and still works at the facility. Laura Monterrosa ingested “51 pain pills that were left in her possession by