Prison conditions in the United States have the lowest standards compared to other highly developed countries, and neglect and abuse in for-profit prisons is worst of all. The most alarming is the situation in the Juvenile Detention Centers, where children up to twelve years of age are detained.
In 2013, The Huffington Post, in the article “Prisoners for Profit”: reported:
In 2001, an 18-year-old committed to a Texas boot camp operated by one of Slattery’s previous companies, Correctional Services Corp., contracted pneumonia and pleaded to see a doctor as he struggled to breathe. The guards accused the teen of faking it and forced him to do push-ups in his own vomit, according to Texas police reports. After nine days of medical negligence, he died.
This story is not an anomaly, this is what happens to children every day in the American prison system. Many of them are detained for minor offenses and simply for “behaviours”, which are offensive, without any crime having been committed. According to the Prison Policy Initiative, some youth are locked up for non-criminal offenses such as “truancy, running away, violating curfew, or otherwise being ‘ungovernable’.
They are denied medical care, education, and exercise, and are often placed in solitary confinement as “unmanageable.” Many of these children have undiagnosed and untreated mental illnesses that are made worse by these conditions. Under these conditions, there is little hope that they will ever become productive citizens. Meanwhile, the corporations charged with its care are posting record profits.
The challenge in enforcing the civil rights laws that are often violated in private juvenile detention facilities is that many of the abuses go unreported. Parents of incarcerated youth tend to be unsophisticated and many of the youth receive infrequent visits, so there is little supervision over the children’s living conditions. Lawsuits that do arise are usually brought by parents who are more educated and knowledgeable and who are actively monitoring the welfare of their children.
When a parent discovers that their child is not being treated properly in a juvenile detention center, they should call a civil rights attorney for a consultation. A civil rights attorney can help you resolve the issues and determine if you can file a claim for damages and an injunction (an order to do something). If only a court order is sought, the attorney should refer the parents to a for-profit organization like the American Civil Liberties Union with funds to file claims for injunctive relief. Private attorneys can only handle cases for a contingency fee if damages can be collected, so it is best for them to refer such cases to a non-profit organization.