Shedding light on WALLMarts...

Legislation, lawsuits seek to shine light on private prisons

By Melanie Bengtson
First Amendment Center Online intern

A bill before Congress would extend the Freedom of Information Act to require private prisons contracted by the federal government to release records under the same standards as federal prisons.

The Private Prison Information Act of 2007 (H.R. 1889), introduced by Rep. Tim Holden, D-Pa., would require private prisons and other correctional facilities under contract with federal agencies to house federal prisoners to make their records accessible under the same FOIA requirements that govern federal prisons. An identical bill was introduced in the Senate (S. 2010) by Sen. Joseph Lieberman, D-Conn.

Prison privatization has increased rapidly in the face of growing concerns over overcrowding, safety and poor health care in public institutions. Desire to control costs has also led to an increase in privatization. However, privately owned and operated facilities are not subject to the same FOIA scrutiny as public agencies. Although the press and public can retrieve information about privately run prisons from the Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other government agencies, private prisons remain largely outside the scope of FOI laws. (Full text at FirstAmendmentCenter.org)