Evo
DeConcini Federal Courthouse, Tucson
may
13, 2013
Approximately
80 people of faith and other concerned citizens turned out in
downtown Tucson this week to observe Corrections Corporation of
America's (CCA) 30th anniversary of incarcerating people
for profit. While CCA runs prison for several state entities, they
also operate a number of immigrant detention centers in Arizona,
including the Eloy Detention Center which has come under recent
federal scrutiny due to the high incidence of suicide among
detainees. The protest was organized by the American Friends Service
Committee of Tucson.
A
major issue for many AZ taxpayers is the fact that two CCA board
members are also on the Arizona State Board of Regents: Dennis
DeConcini and Anne Mariucci. SHAME on them both for profiting from
the exploitation of immigrants and incarceration of anyone CCA's
lobbyists can help criminalize – they've sold out our future
generations for a few shares of private prison stock.
CCA's
disrespect for human rights applies to all prisoners, not just
immigrant detainees. LaPalma Correctional Center in Eloy, AZ has
degraded it's Kosher food program so much that the California
prisoners warehoused there are beginning to refuse certain meals
and are conducting a public education campaign about religious
rights. They have tried for over 1 ½ years to resolve this
through CCA”s administrative processes to no avail, and are
asking the community to bring pressure to bear now on the
political system, as constitutional rights for all prisoners are
at stake in this struggle.
Towards
that end, I'm encouraging folks to contact Dennis DeConcini and Anne
Mariucci at the AZ Board of Regents office – I think it will have
bigger impact there than if correspondence goes through CCA channels.
Their contact info is:
Arizona
Board of Regents
2020 N. Central Ave., Suite 230
Phoenix,
AZ
85004-4593
T: (602) 229-2500 • F: (602)
229-2555
If you wish to contact CCA HQ, go
right for the top and send your letter to the President, Damon
Hininger. He should be able to get your letters if you send them
here:
Corrections Corporation of America
10 Burton Hills Boulevard
Nashville, TN 37215
Phone: (615) 263-3000
(800) 624-2931
Fax: (615) 263-3140
Nashville, TN 37215
Phone: (615) 263-3000
(800) 624-2931
Fax: (615) 263-3140
Be
sure to put Dennis DeConcini and Anne Mariucci in the cc, so he
knows they're waiting for an answer, too. Or you could just make
signs for the next protest, if necessary, and send Hininger some
pictures expressing your feelings...
Hang in there, Guys...