Deadly Weekend Prison Riot Highlights Risks Of Private Prisons

One Officer Killed, Four Staff Members Injured at CCA Prison in Mississippi

WASHINGTON, May 21, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- This weekend's prison riot at the Adams County Correctional Center in Mississippi, a facility operated by the Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), is a brutal reminder of what can happen when public safety is turned over to a for-profit company, the leader of the union which represents Florida prison correctional officers said.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100127/IBTLOGO)

"Murder, hostage-taking, and injured prison employees is not the type of a correctional system that should be allowed to take hold in Florida," said Ken Wood , International Vice President of the Teamsters and Acting President of Teamsters Local 2011, the bargaining representative for Florida Department of Correctional officers. "Regrettably, CCA has been in charge when similar violence erupted in Idaho and Vermont. The citizens of Florida should continue to let their elected officials know that prison privatization should not be an option in our state."

One officer was killed and four other staff members and an inmate were injured during the nine-hour prison riot. According to The Washington Post, the 2,567 bed prison in Natchez houses adult male illegal immigrants for the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

The 1.4 million-member International Brotherhood of Teamsters represent law enforcement officers in 26 states around the country and over 260,000 public service employees at all levels of government.   

SOURCE International Brotherhood of Teamsters

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