A Timely Update: For-Profit Private Prison Operator CoreCivic

The City of Mesa seems to be operating in stark contract at odds - doing the exact opposite - as an investment group that seeks to direct capital towards social justice and sustainability and away from For-Profit Private Prison corporation CoreCivic.

The current issue here is seeking approval from the Mesa City Council to approve a new $3.6M contract award for detention facilities. The first controversial contract was awarded in 2017.

On the national level, in the State of California, the outcome of a legal case produced these comments from Tim Cushing published on Techdirt last Thursday, April 15, 2021. That was the same day the contract award item was on the Consent Agenda to be heard and discussed during a Study Session.

Private Prison Company On The Hook For Legal Fees After Suing Investment Group For Saying It Was Doing Stuff It Was Actually Doing

Thu, Apr 15th 2021 3:48pm— Tim Cushing

Techdirt. |

Private prison company CoreCivic has just learned a civics lesson. [I'll show myself out.] Possibly a very expensive one.

Last March, it sued [PDF] Candide Group, an investment firm that "directs capital away from an extractive global economy towards investments dedicated to social justice and sustainability." CoreCivic was one company Candide reps wanted money directed away from, citing its participation in separating parents from children at our nation's borders. (But really only the Southern border if we're honest.) Candide also claimed CoreCivic lobbies for harsher sentencing and tougher immigration laws since both of those would naturally provide more business for CoreCivic.

CoreCivic's libel lawsuit said these two "falsehoods" were spread throughout the web via sites like Forbes and multiple social media platforms. It denied both assertions and said they were stated with a reckless disregard for the truth. Candide responded with an anti-SLAPP motion [PDF], which pointed out that not only could CoreCivic not prove the statements were false but also that it had filed its lawsuit past the one-year statute of limitations.

The motion worked. After some back and forth discussion about the merits of the arguments, the court disposed of CoreCivic's lawsuit with a very short dismissal [PDF] in November. The order doesn't say much but it says enough to indicate just how weak CoreCivic's allegations were. . .

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CoreCivic didn't like being publicly criticized, especially by an entity that could shift investors' money elsewhere. That these actions may have damaged CoreCivic's future profitability isn't really relevant -- at least not when its allegations of libel couldn't be sustained.

Whatever money is now leaking from CoreCivic is going to be (mildly) compounded by its inability to recognize largely truthful statements as protected speech, rather than the defamation it clearly desires them to be. . .

CoreCivic sued because it didn't like being criticized for doing things it was actually doing.

> A suit like this is designed to silence critics and deter others from making similar statements.

If a defendant bleeds long enough, an eventual victory is ultimately meaningless. The damage has been done and the threat remains."

Filed Under: anti-slapp, border, defamation, detention centers, prisons, private prisons, separated families, slapp, statute of limitations
Companies: candide, corecivic

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Compassion: Private For-Profit Prisons | Mesa City Council Seeking Approval on $3.6M Contract with Core Civic

The issue is back on-the-table this month and back in the news > RELATED CONTENT ON THIS BLOG FROM. 2017 19 May 2017 WATCH THIS Mesa ...

The controversial topic of human rights, combined with evolving public sentiment and policy views on criminal justice reform, expose privately operated criminal detention facilities operators to ongoing social and governance risks, . .

Biden Order Hits Private U.S. Prisons’ Credit Ratings

By Davide Scigliuzzo

Bloomberg.com |

‎March‎ ‎24‎, ‎2021‎ ‎9‎:‎27 Updated on ‎March‎ ‎24‎, ‎2021‎ ‎16‎:‎15

For years, private U.S. prison companies have faced scrutiny from social justice advocates, politicians and investors. Now that the Biden administration is severing the federal government’s ties, the industry’s creditworthiness is taking a hit.

Geo Group Inc. and CoreCivic Inc. -- the nation’s largest operators of private detention facilities -- citing growing questions about the outlook for the companies’ profits and concerns over their ability to refinance debt. A few hours later, Moody’s Investors Service took similar actions on both companies.

The review was prompted by President Joe Biden’s executive order in January that instructed the Department of Justice not to renew contracts with private prisons. These deals accounted for about 27% of Geo’s revenue and 24% of CoreCivic’

Both companies have seen their financing options dwindle in recent years, after major investment banks pledged to cut ties with private prison operators and as money managers face increased pressure to incorporate environmental, social and governance criteria into their investment selection.