Prison officials at this privatized prison are keeping silent about the details which sparked an uprising. What is clear is that an inmate died while in solitary and upon his body being taken from the facility the inmates rose up, took two hostages and starting making demands. Their demands were quite meager: better healthcare, better food and a request to speak to the Mexican consulate. News reports refer to the prison as a federal prison that houses many “illegal immigrants,” but the exact proportion of immigrants is never stated. Nevertheless the hostages have been released and the sitatuation has been resolved “peacefully,” which basically means that business as usual is back in action. Prisoners are left with little recourse when it comes to horrible conditions inside, and don’t try to tell Malcolm-Che that they have plenty of recourse by way of suing the prisons, because that is the equivalent of suing your slavemaster while still in slavery; you are at their mercy literally.
Since it is a privatized prison run for profit, one would have to assume that prisoners are given the bare minimum when it comes to healthcare, food, etc. Its also noteable that the prison is currently hiring and might be understaffed, another element that increased profit for the corporation running it.
Uprising At Texas Privatized Prison Over Healthcare, Food
http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/12/14/1214riot.html
Inmates who took two hostages in protest of medical treatment at a privately run prison in West Texas released the hostages without serious injury and gave up to authorities Saturday morning, officials said.
Department of Public Safety Trooper John Barton said there were minor injuries during the hostage standoff at the Reeves County Detention Center, but he did not elaborate on who and how many people were hurt. There were no injuries to responding law enforcement officers, Patricia Dieschler, a dispatcher for the DPS in Pecos, said.
The warden of the detention center for more than 2,400 inmates declined to comment pending release of a prepared statement.
Outside law enforcement officers called in to assist prison personnel returned control of the detention center about 6:30 a.m., Dieschler said.
Federal inmates, several of whom are immigration detainees at the prison, took two recreation specialists hostage Friday. Officials say a riot started after noon, when the body of an inmate who died of natural causes was removed from the prison, Barton said.
An exercise room burned, but the extent of the damage and its cost was not fully assessed, Barton said.
Barton told the Pecos Enterprise newspaper that firefighters extinguished bonfires inmates had set during the hostage-taking
http://www.newswest9.com/Global/story.asp?S=9517528&nav=menu505_2
After a riot at the Reeves County Detention Center, very few details are pouring out, but two hostages taken during the standoff are back home and we’re told things are returning to normal at the prison.
On Friday, inmates torched a building and took two hostages. After hours of negotiating, authorities reached a peaceful resolution.
We still don’t know what started that riot on Friday afternoon, but we do know the inmates wanted better food, health care, and to speak to the Mexican consulate.
Prison officials aren’t saying much, but they did say, that things are calm.
The prison is privately-run by a group out of Louisiana, but houses 2,400 federal inmates. Most of them are criminal illegal immigrants.
An operation that drew law enforcement from all over West Texas.
“When you throw in elements such as hostages, that’s a different concern,” DPS Trooper John Barton, said. “We want to make sure we can get a safe and successful release of those hostages by any necessary means we can do.”
It was an nine hour standoff that started with flames and stones. Around 1:00 Friday afternoon, inmates set fire to the RCDC Recreation Center and started throwing rocks at guards.
“We have a lot of agencies here who are both local, state, and federal who are coordinating with each other and cooperating in all aspects of the operation,” Barton said.
Two of the recreation staff employees, ages 57 and 60, were taken hostage. The rec building was left smoldering. Fire officials couldn’t get past more than a thousand inmates on the yard.
“They made a request for the Mexican Consolate,” Barton said. “The Mexican Consolate has met with them, and talked with them. Their demands are pretty much the same, involving around medical care and the food.”
Finally just after 10:00, one inmate, then two hours later the second were safely relased.
The Reeves County Detention Center will handle the investigation from here, but officials at the prison refuse to give an update, only saying things are calm.
“Any situation you have, whether you have hostages or not, when it involves a prison and a prison riot, first of all, we want to secure the facility,” Barton said. “We want to make sure the people of Reeves County and the people of Pecos are safe.”
Several agencies are still investigating. The Texas Rangers are looking into the death of one of the inmates who reportedly died of natural causes while in isolation. It’s still unclear as to whether that incident started the fights.
NewsWest 9 has also learned the Reeves County Detention Center is hiring and there’s no word on whether a lack of employees played a factor in the riots.
