Juvi Hell

Last week, the Texas Youth Commission, which runs that state's juvenile prisons, released the results of a surprise audit (PDF) of the Coke County Juvenile Justice Center (excerpts below and on the following six pages). The audit describes unsafe or filthy conditions, among them emergency exits that would not open or were blocked (Page 2); lavatories that were "inoperable" (Page 4); and prison cells that "smelled of feces and urine" (Page 5). Inmates told auditors that abuse ranged from "being forced to urinate or defecate in some container other than a toilet" to being "disciplined for speaking Spanish" (Pages 5 and 6). Educational services mandated by state law "were achieved by providing youth with one worksheet per day" consisting of a "crossword puzzle and a 'word find' activity" (Page 7).

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Chalk it up to the magic of the marketplace. Like a growing number of juvenile detention centers across the country, the Coke County Juvenile Justice Center is privately run, in this instance by a company called GEO. In 2000, GEO (then called Wackenhut) was the subject of a 60 Minutes expose for its abusive treatment at the same institution. (That was only one year after the same Texas Youth Commission now condemning the Coke County Juvenile Center had named it Contract Facility of the Year—an honor that speaks very poorly of the competition. The Coke County facility won the prize again in 2005.) GEO has also received much criticism for its management of other Texas prisons.

Upon release of the Texas Youth Commission's audit, GEO's $8 million contract was cancelled, the inmates were transferred to other juvenile prisons, and the Texas Senate began oversight hearings on private prison contracts.

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