O.C. WEIGHS USE OF PRIVATE PRISON

POLICE: The sheriff might ship up to 500 inmates to a now vacant facility in
Kern County.

CALIFORNIA CITY-Orange County inmates could be among the first tenants of a
new $100 million private prison built on speculation-and sitting empty-among
the tumbleweeds of the Mojave Desert.

Sheriff Mike Carona, trying to ease Orange County's over-crowded jails, is
looking at a plan to rent a portion of the 2,300-bed prison to house up to
500 county inmates.

The prison, built in California City by Corrections Corp. of America, is
caught in a bitter debate over privatizing prisons in California. State
officials, lobbied by the powerful correctional officers union, are snubbing
the private prison - initially built to tap into California's 162,000-inmate
population. The state is expected to outgrow its capacity in three years.

Spurned by the state, Corrections Corp. now hopes to land a lucrative
contract that would fill the prison with federal inmates.

Meanwhile, Carona's potential alliance with Corrections Corp. would put him
in league with the largest purveyor of private jail cells in the nation,
with 65,000 inmates in 78 prisons. It also is a company with a spotted past.

Corrections Corp. prisons, as well as other private jail companies, have
made recent headlines because of escapes, inmate riots, violence,
mismanagement and other problems.

But their record, say advocates, is no worse than at California's publicly
run prisons, marred by guard-induced "gladiator" fights, rapes and the
deaths of seven inmates shot by correctional officers at Corcoran State
Prison.

"Prisons are ugly, whether they are private prisons or public prisons," said
state Sen. Richard Polanco, D-Los Angeles, an advocate of privatization.
"Your sheriff is doing the right thing because the alternative is early
release back into the community."

Others say Carona is playing with fire.

"CCA has been messing up a lot of things ... but it's a market that no
matter how badly you screw up, you'll get hired again," said Eric Lotke,
executive director of D.C. Prisoners Legal Service Project in Washington,
D.C. an inmate-advocacy group that sued Corrections Corp.

The lawsuit, over alleged abuses at a Corrections Corp. prison in
Youngstown, Ohio, was settled in April for $1.65 million - one of the
largest settlements in the history of corrections litigation.

The California Correctional Peace Officers Association has spread newspaper
accounts of the problems at Youngstown, where two inmates were slain and six
felons - five of them convicted killers - escaped after cutting a hole in a
fence. Guards were inadequately trained. And city fathers said they were
sandbagged by Corrections Corp., which brought in some of Washington, D.C.'s
most dangerous inmates without notifying Youngstown officials.

"We're not seeing how the major actors are being held accountable for
failures," Lotke said. "We're seeing how the major actors are getting new
contracts."

Orange County sheriff's officials are quick to point out the Carona would
not contract directly with Corrections Corp., but with the Kern County
Sheriff's Department - which, in turn, would lease a 523-bed wing from the
prison. Orange County inmates would be guarded by Kern County sheriff's
employees, since state law forbids private officers from guarding county
prisoners.

Assistant Orange County Sheriff George Jarmillo said the deal illustrates
Carona's support for a private-public partnership - not full-scale
privatization.

"He's taking people who have the money and ability to build now and saying,
'If you build it, we'll use it,'" Jaramillo said.

Kern County and Corrections Corp. are trying to set the costs that would be
charged to Orange County, which one company representative said would be in
the range of $60 a day per inmate. That is on the high end of what Orange
County already pays to house inmates.

"Orange County is needing beds, Kern County is interested in helping them,
and we're interested in putting that together," said David Myers, chief of
Corrections Corp.'s West Coast branch.

Under the proposal, Orange County would send inmates awaiting state prison
commitments, serving lengthy jail terms or being held for the U.S.
Immigration and Naturalization Service.

The plan would have to be approved by the boards of supervisors for both
counties.

By using Kern County personnel, Carona would sidestep many of the arguments
against privatization, arguments that private guards are not adequately
trained and prepared to oversee tough prisoners. Corana would, in effect,
merely be renting a site.

But there are other considerations, critics say.

Corrections Corp. is represented by Newport Beach businessman Buck Johns, a
Republican activist whose company donated at least $750 to Carona's campaign
for sheriff.

Johns said there is no conflict of interest because any deal would have to
be approved by county supervisors.

"I expect to make money on this, you bet," Johns said. "(But) favoritism, it
just does not exist on this. ... None of this stuff is made in a
smoke-filled room. It's out in public."

Johns also donated at least $1,900 total to three members of the Orange
County Board of Supervisors.

Kara Gotsch, of the American Civil Liberties Union's National Prison
Project, was concerned that busing inmates 100 miles to the desert would
prevent them from receiving visits. She said plans to provide video hookups
so visitors would not have to drive was a weak substitute for real visits.

"It's important these inmates be able to maintain their support systems,
maintain relations to be better able to incorporate back into society,"
Gotsch said.

The prison was built to federal specifications, but did not pass muster with
an agency that accredits California facilities. Some problems: the sinks are
made of porcelain, which can be broken and the pieces used as weapons.
Ceiling fixtures are too low. Towel racks can be used as weapons.

Dan Vasquez, California City warden, said the wing used for Orange County
inmates would be modified to meet state standards. But, he added, prison is
still a dangerous place.

"It's gonna rock 'n' roll just like any other facility," Vasquez said.
"That's the nature of the business."