Two judges plead guilty last week in Pennsylvania for receiving kickbacks in the amount of $2.6 million for sentencing juveniles to privately owned detention centers in an effort to increase the head count at those facilities. The majority of juveniles appearing before the judges were convicted of minor offenses but received lengthy sentences not appropriate for those convictions.
The Texas Youth Commission is no stranger to private prison scandals itself. The closing of the Coke County Juvenile Justice Center owed by Wackenhut, now known as the GEO Company, highlighted problems with privately owned facililies that house young offenders.
March 6, 2009 at 3:38 am |
Great headline & lead. Caught my attention quickly.