Arkansas tried the use of Private Prisons in our State, it was a dismal failure. The State contracted with Wackenhut to run a couple of new prisons at Newport. Conditions deteriorated, and the U.S. Department of Justice opened an investigation into the scandalous conditions in the prisons. The state eventually backed out of the deal and took over the prisons again.

A broken criminal justice system lacks transparency and accountability, creates harmful conditions for incarcerated people, imposes unfair barriers to success for people with arrest and conviction histories, and decreases economic stability among families, especially among black and Latino communities.

Some of our Public Officials believe that: Shipping Arkansas imprisoned citizens to out-of-state Private-4-Profit Prisons is a good idea... It is NOT! Shipping Arkansas citizens across state lines as a 'quick-fix' to prison overcrowding is an abhorrent practice of treating incarcerated men and women like commodities and our state's dangerous reliance on incarceration.

On November 7th, 2014 Texas Inmate Families Association (TIFA), Texas CURE, and Texas VOICES, are joining forces for the Texas Families for Justice Rally. This grassroots collection of people, most with imprisoned loved ones, will send a clear message to the Texas legislature--"the criminal justice system in Texas is broken."

Denials need at least 4 voting, not 1, to grant a 2nd look