Atlanta Black Star: Rooted In Slavery, Private Prisons Make A Comeback Under Trump
As Political Dig reported, the Obama administration’s decision to end the contracts with private companies was due to the abuse and mistreatment of prisoners by GEO Group. In 2012, a federal judge referred to a GE-operated prison as a “cesspool of unconstitutional and inhuman acts and conditions,” according to The International Business Times. In 2014, the head of the Mississippi prison system was charged with accepting bribes from private prisons and pleaded guilty. The GEO Group donated $250,000 to Trump’s inauguration activities, as USA Today reported, while a GEO Group subsidiary also gave $225,000 to Rebuild America Now, a pro-Trump super PAC. The Campaign Legal Center, a nonpartisan watchdog group, filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) alleging that in giving to the Trump super PAC, the GEO Group violated a federal law barring political contributions from government contractors, as VICE News reported. CoreCivic (formerly Corrections Corporation of America or CCA) also contributed $250,000 to Trump.