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The July 30, 2010, escape of three inmates from an Arizona medium-security private prison was a series of worst-case scenarios come to life, not only for the public, but for the private companies that operate and profit from state prison facilities. While two of the escapees were captured quickly, John McCluskey and his accomplice Casslyn Welch avoided capture for nearly three weeks. Their time on the lam was not without incident-they were linked to the murder of Gary and Linda Haas, an Oklahoma couple whose burned bodies were found in their camper parked in New Mexico.
In the weeks authorities searched for McCluskey and Welch, Arizona officials began an investigation into the Management & Training Company (MTC)-operated prison. They found several glaring security oversights that contributed to the maelstrom, including a faulty perimeter alarm, inadequate maintenance on the alarm system, no security guards posted at the perimeter when the escape occurred, a sluggish response to the reported escape, and nonoperational flood lights at the perimeter.
The report left the Haas family and many across the country to conclude that this tragedy simply did not have to happen if MTC had done its due diligence. McCluskey and Welch were apprehended on August 20, 2010, but the damage was done. The Haas family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against MTC and the State of Arizona. Subsequent media reports on the close relationships between private prison lobbyists, Arizona Governor Jan Brewer, and state lawmakers exposed a "pay-to-play" system that allowed private prisons to flourish in Arizona at the detriment of taxpayer resources and public safety.
The negative press could not have come at a worse time for MTC and other private prison operators. After the 2010 midterm elections, a new crop of legislators in states such as Florida, Louisiana, and Ohio ushered in grand proposals for broad-scale prison privatization as a means to raise funds to counteract sharp budget cuts. Arizona's cautionary tale set the tone for debates in other states where advocates questioned whether private prisons yield cost savings, provide adequate safety measures, and increase the state's reliance on incarceration rather than rehabilitation.
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