Dem Lawmaker Grills Fed Prison Chief Over “Occupancy Guarantees” Contracts
During an oversight hearing with the head of federal prisons, Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.) called on the agency to review arrangements with private jailers that require beds to be full. Testifying before a House Judiciary subcommittee on Wednesday, Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Acting Director Dr. Thomas Kane stated that the government still includes occupancy guarantees in its contracts with for-profit prisons. Also known as “lockup quotas,” the provisions require state and federal authorities to keep a certain minimum of prison beds full—generally between 70 and…