The first correction, which can be found at the top of the original report here, states:

As we reported, Arizona state Sen. Russell Pearce was the originator of the draft legislation that later became Arizona SB 1070. This story did not mean to suggest that the Corrections Corporation of America was the catalyst behind the law or that it took a corporate position in favor of the legislation.

In our 2010 broadcast piece we said: “Last December Arizona Sen. Russell Pearce sat in a hotel conference room with representatives from the Corrections Corporation of America and several dozen others. Together they drafted model legislation that was introduced into the Arizona Legislature two months later, almost word for word.”

Although CCA did have a representative at the ALEC meeting where model legislation similar to 1070 was drafted, we didn’t mean to suggest that CCA wrote the language.

NPR issued a second correction to a related report, which can be found at the top of that report here. That correction states as follows:

Laura Sullivan’s use of the phrase “an end run” in the second reference during the live broadcast was imprecise. She did not mean to suggest that CCA violated lobbying law.

Previous postings by CCA refuting the original report and updating efforts to set the record state can be read here and here.

Whether it’s overcrowding, soaring costs or high recidivism rates, governments all across America are looking for solutions to their complex corrections challenges.  We are very proud of the work that we do to offer our government partners secure facilities and the flexibility to help manage inmate populations at the lowest cost to taxpayers.  We want to share with you some relevant facts about the benefits of partnership corrections, bring to light specific issues that were not covered in the documentary and correct some important misrepresentations:

CNBC Relied Heavily On Sources With Criminal Backgrounds

• Todd Goertzen, a former employee who appeared in the documentary as a critic of partnership corrections, was not terminated by CCA, as CNBC claimed, for failing to report to work.
• Goertzen was terminated for violating our code of conduct by lying to his supervisors. Rather than disclose that he had not reported to work after becoming intoxicated with a former inmate who was later arrested for a DUI while driving Goertzen’s vehicle, which had his uniforms in it, he instead told his supervisor that his daughter was sick.  Goertzen has been arrested or detained multiple times for alcohol-related infractions.
• Alex Friedmann, who also appeared in the documentary as a critic of partnership corrections, was not convicted solely for armed robbery, as CNBC claimed.
• Friedmann is a violent, convicted felon who served 10 years for attempted murder, assault and armed robbery, and who has worked in recent years as a professional critic waging a union-funded campaign against partnership corrections.

CCA’s Top Priority Is Facility Security and Community Safety

• CCA’s escape rate has been shown to be 10 times lower than the escape rate in comparable prisons.
• CCA employs innovative processes and state-of-the art technology to manage facilities and the inmates within them.
• The Idaho Correctional Center’s new warden has added measures beyond requirements to improve safety.
• ICC officers have at least 315 hours of training and certification by the independent Idaho Peace Officer Standards and Training Council.
• Proper staffing is key to CCA’s gold-plate industry accreditation, which averaged scores of 99-plus percent in 2011.
• CCA meets and exceeds industry standards set by the independent American Corrections Association (ACA).

CCA Strictly Prohibits Lobbying For Or Against Sentencing And Detention Policies

• CNBC carried a false, inaccurate and totally unsubstantiated statement by an individual claiming that CCA was involved with the passage of Arizona immigration law.
• It is CCA’s policy and practice not to engage in legislation involving crime or sentencing policies.  CCA has never lobbied or had any role in passage of immigration laws in Arizona, as the bill’s sponsor, Arizona media and Arizona’s Governor have publicly affirmed.
• If membership in ALEC alone were sufficient evidence to link CCA to lobbying that it never did, then CCA’s membership in the Arizona Chamber of Commerce would be sufficient evidence to disprove such allegations.  The Arizona Chamber vigorously opposed SB 1070 with us as a member.
• As CNBC and other outlets have reported, the driving force behind the drafting of the immigration law is Constitutional attorney and Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach.
• You can read a letter from CCA lobbyist Jaime Molera who wrote CNBC directly to explain our company’s policy by clicking on this link. You can read even more about the origins of the falsehood by clicking on this link.

CCA Has A Positive Economic Impact On Communities and Provides Significant Taxpayer Savings

• CCA facility construction brings about 300 immediate construction-related jobs to the local area with a substantial economic “ripple” effect.
• Independent studies have found that privately managed prisons offer savings on average of between 10 – 15 percent over comparable prisons.
• By clicking on the following links, you can read letters of support sent directly to CNBC by communities that value CCA’s partnership:
  • “CCA has provided needed tax base for our City, County, and Schools as well as up to 190 jobs, infrastructure upgrades for our town, and support of local business and utilities. They are a part of our community and help strengthen our local economy.” – Allan Underal, Toole County (MT) Commissioner
  • “Not only will jobs be provided for the jobless, our city and county will benefit from this. We look forward to a long working relationship with Corrections Corporation of America in our town and county as a partner of our organizations, schools, etc.” – Mabel C. Jenkins, Chairman, Jenkins County (GA) Development Authority
  • “The bottom line is that CCA is [a] major factor in the continued success of California City both now and in the future.” – Bill Smith, Mayor Pro Tem, and Tom Weil, City Manager, City of California City

CCA has never lobbied or had any role – directly or indirectly – in the development or passage of Arizona’s or any state’s immigration laws, as the bill’s sponsor and Arizona’s Governor have publicly affirmed repeatedly. It is CCA’s policy and practice not to engage in legislation involving crime or sentencing policies.

The following summary contains the details behind CCA’s denial; the author of the legislation’s denial in several media reports; additional reports by Arizona news media criticizing the NPR story, and a sample of CCA’s ongoing efforts in the media to maintain an accurate public record.

Responding to NPR’s Specific Allegations

NPR’s report, which relied on insinuations and flawed facts, was aired despite unequivocal statements from CCA disputing the allegations. CCA subsequently sent a letter to the NPR correspondent and the editor reiterating the company’s factual position. A copy of that letter is available here. Following is a summary of the false allegations in NPR’s report and the facts that refute them:

NPR alleges that CCA, through its membership participation at the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) conferences in December 2009, helped draft and approve the model legislation that would go on to become Arizona’s SB1070.

The Facts:

SB 1070 was not drafted at ALEC

• Senator Pearce has introduced and carried legislation just like SB 1070 for nearly 10 years.  He was successful in getting it passed on numerous occasions only to have it vetoed by former Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano.

CCA was a non-voting ALEC member

• CCA historically maintained a membership with ALEC for the purpose of monitoring policy trends and developments, although the company is no longer a member of the organization.  The CCA representative who attended the meetings cited by NPR consistently refrained from drafting, lobbying or voting on any policies or model legislation, including Arizona’s immigration legislation.

In an effort to imply that CCA lobbied for passage of SB1070, NPR highlights campaign contributions to the bill’s co-sponsors “from prison lobbyists or prison companies.”

The Facts:

• The story neglected to report that CCA had not contributed any money to any Arizona legislator – supporter of SB 1070 or otherwise – in 2010.
• In an email to a CCA employee a Phoenix TV reporter wrote that the NPR reporter admitted she had not looked at any contributions CCA may have made to opponents of SB1070, despite the fact that NPR stated they “spent the past several months analyzing hundreds of pages of campaign finance reports…”
• By implying that contributions made by CCA lobbyists to these officials represents CCA’s effort to endorse SB1070, NPR ignores the fact that these lobbyists – some of whom are staunch opponents of SB1070 – represent a wide range of clients; it is inaccurate – and irresponsible – to link their contributions to CCA, particularly since it would be a violation of federal campaign contribution law for any consultant to contribute to a legislator on behalf of any client.

Author of SB 1070 Denies CCA Involvement

The author of SB1070, Arizona Senator Russell Pearce, has made numerous public statements in response to the NPR report to set the record straight:

KGUN9-TV in Tucson, October 29: “Senator Pearce calls the alleged link an absolute, outrageous lie. He told KGUN 9, ‘I wrote 1070 in 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, and 2010. And all of a sudden now she wants to make a plea because I had it adopted as model legislation for the states, and they wrote it somehow. They don’t write legislation at ALEC.’ ”

The Arizona Republic, October 29: “State Sen. Russell Pearce, who first introduced a bill in 2003 to require law enforcement to question individuals about their immigration status, denied a report by NPR reporter Laura Sullivan that “Pearce’s idea took shape” last year at a conference of conservative lawmakers and corporate interests.  ”It’s a lie,” said Pearce, R-Mesa.”

The Arizona Capitol newsletter, October 29: “Senator Pearce, who is cited by NPR to corroborate CCA’s attendance at the ALEC convention, made the following response on Oct 29 regarding the NPR story: “Responding to a question about how much influence the prison firms had in the language, he replied, “Zero. Can I make it any more clear? Zero. I never have spoken to them on it. They’ve never had influence. They’ve never come to me over it. I don’t know where they come up with that stuff. They’ve never asked to talk to me about it.”

Others Question NPR Report

Arizona media outlets and political experts familiar with the legislation, its history and the state’s legislative process are publicly challenging the veracity and integrity of the NPR report:

The Arizona Republic, November 2: An Arizona Republic editorial, “Corporate Plot Wishful Thinking,” calls it “a national news report that simply appears to have fallen into that dangerous category of stories that seem too juicy to properly check out” and “Washingtonian wish fulfillment writ large.”

Arizona PBS Eight, October 29: NPR’s reports alleging the private prisons industry “birthed” SB 1070 was discussed on the October 29, 2010 airing of the local PBS television program “Horizon,” which is billed as a roundtable where local reporters review the week’s top stories.  Excerpts from that conversation:

• Mary Jo Pitzl of The Arizona Republic said “there are a lot of holes in this story” and that NPR’s report “went over with a thud in (Arizona) Capitol news rooms where anybody (who’s) been out there for a while knows that Russell Pearce has been trying to run legislation like this basically since he got into the legislature.”  She went on to say that former Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano vetoed bills that were just like 1070.
• Doug MacEachern of The Arizona Republic said that “a national reporter parachuting into a local environment and trying to interpret legislation…is like me working on your car – I haven’t got a clue.”

Yellow Sheet Report, October 28: The Yellow Sheet Report, Arizona’s Capitol insider publication, reported:   “A story on National Public Radio this morning resurrected the S1070-private prison allegations, though observers generally agree it demonstrated the reporter’s fundamental lack of knowledge about the law’s history and Arizona’s political process.  Many of the allegations in the story do not mesh with the reality of how that bill came to be law.”  The publication opined, “It’s a hell of a story, though.”

“Sunday Square Off” on 12 News (NBC), October 31:  The issue was discussed on this local public affairs television program.  Excerpts from that conversation:

• Chris Herstam, principal at the law firm, Lewis and Rocca, and 12 News’ “political insider” said “the fact that they’re making the claim the prison industry wrote the bill is ridiculous” and remarked that “there are huge, gaping holes in this story.”
• Greg Patterson of EspressoPundit.com said “anybody who understands (Arizona’s) legislative process or the history of 1070 knows that story was a complete disaster.”

In the interest of maintaining an accurate public record, CCA has actively responded to reports containing the erroneous NPR allegations through letters to the editor and other outreach efforts to reporters and editors.

Samples appear here:

Letter to NPR

The City Paper: Letter to the Editor

The Daily Courier: Letter to the Editor

The Tennessean: Letter to the Editor