Privatization of Corrections and the Constitutional Rights of Prisoners

• NCJ Number: 118844
• Journal: Federal Probation Volume: 53 Issue: 2 Dated: (June 1989) Pages: 36-42
• Author(s): H J Sullivan
• Date Published: 1989
• Length: 7 pages
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/; NCJRS Photocopy Services
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Analysis
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

There are circumstances under which arrangements between government and private corrections contractors could jeopardize the constitutional rights of inmates.

Abstract

Many in the legal and corrections community have presumed that "private" correctional facilities will be held to the same constitutional standards as those directly administered by the State. Because the U.S. Supreme Court has not yet been forced to rule on this issue, however, it is impossible to come to any definitive judgment on the constitutional status of those confined to privately run correctional facilities. In a wide variety of cases, though, the Court has addressed the circumstances under which privately owned and operated facilities providing services to government are subject to constitutional restraints. These cases provide reasons to doubt the emerging conventional wisdom that the recognized rights of those confined to public prisons must in all instances be protected by "private" facilities. If this proves correct, "privatization" can be used by governments to evade constitutional protections for prisoners. 45 footnotes.