DOJ extends renewed contract to private prison group, but later rescinds it

Less than 24 hours after the Justice Department said it hoped to reduce the use of private prisons in the U.S., the Bureau of Prisons renewed a private-prison contract with GEO Group, Inc -- one of the largest providers of correctional and detention services--and then rescinded it two hours later. If the contract had been renewed, it would have applied specifically to the GEO-owned D. Ray James Correctional Facility in Georgia, allowing it to operate until September 2018.

The Bureau of Prisons’ indecision was first reported by Reuters, but was later confirmed by GEO Group, whose own CEO, and Chairman George Zoley couldn’t explain what had happened Friday morning.

“They were not clear as to what the reasonings are,” he said in a conference call. “The way it’s been left is we have a written commitment of interest to extend the contract.The option was to accept all terms and conditions as they were. It looks like the BOP (Bureau of Prisons) would like to discuss the terms and conditions of the extension, and that’s all we know at this time.”

A DOJ spokesperson later weighed in, saying, “Last night the Bureau of Prisons notified GEO Group that the contract for the D. Ray James facility had been rescinded and would be renegotiated consistent with the [DOJ] memo.” 

It’s not clear why GEO Group announced its contract had been renewed after it already had been told that the Justice Department rescinded the contract.

The Justice Department has been clear on why it’s trying to reduce the use of privately-owned prisons: private facilities lack the government oversight needed to ensure that safety and security standards are being met.

On Thursday, Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates had directed the BOP to “either decline or decline to renew” private prison contracts, or “substantially reduce its scope in a manner consistent with the law and the overall decline of the Bureau’s inmate population.”

GEO Group was challenged on the conditions of one of its facilities six years ago. In 2010, the Southern Poverty Law Center and the ACLU filed a class-action lawsuit on the behalf of 13 inmates who were imprisoned in one of GEO Group’s correctional facilities. The complaint describes several systemic and widespread problems, including illicit and overlooked sexual abuse, disintegrating infrastructure, inadequate medical care, and rampant violence.

Zoley, however, said GEO’s prisons “meet or exceed quality standards comparable to government operated facilities.”

The Justice Department began contracting with private companies to address the booming federal prison population, which saw an increase of about 800 percent between 1980 and 2013. The now-declining prison population, according to Yates, allows the Department to reallocate resources and move inmates to bureau-owned facilities. 

CBS News’ legal correspondent Paula Reid contributed to this report.