Lawton Correctional Facility, the last state-contracted private prison in Oklahoma, may soon close.
As first reported by The Oklahoman, the prison’s owner/operator, The GEO Group, a corporation that owns and operates private prisons nationwide, informed the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, or ODOC, and Oklahoma Senate leadership through a letter received Friday that it will not renew the state contract for its operation of the prison.
GEO gave the state three months to move 2,616 inmates housed in the Lawton Correctional Facility, starting July 1.
According to the Department of Corrections, the correctional facility is the most violent prison in Oklahoma with several concerning incidents making headlines in the last few months, including the homicide of a prisoner whose body went undiscovered in a trash can for several hours.
The decision to discontinue the contract was based at least partially on Governor Kevin Stitt’s veto, which denied GEO a $3 million raise on top of the $48 million the state pays to GEO annually.
Before Stitt’s veto, GEO appealed to ODOC for the additional money but was denied; over the last four years, the state increased funding to GEO by $6.8 million.
“In recent years, wage inflation and staffing shortages, following the COVID pandemic, have negatively impacted staff recruitment and retention at all state correctional facilities,” a GEO spokesperson wrote in an emailed statement to Oklahoma Watch.
The Department of Corrections Board of Directors is weighing options for the prison, its inmates and staff. The board is expected to release a statement Wednesday.
GEO still has interests in Oklahoma as the owner of the buildings that house the Great Plains Correctional Facility in Hinton. GEO is not involved in the daily operations of that prison, which is leased to the state.
In a statement to Oklahoma Watch, GEO indicated that it would consider renegotiating contract terms for the Lawton Correctional Facility.
Ruby Topalian is a 2024 summer intern at Oklahoma Watch covering general assignments. Contact her at rtopalian@oklahomawatch.org.
Heather Warlick is a reporter covering evictions, housing and homelessness. Contact her at (405) 226-1915 or hwarlick@oklahomawatch.org.
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