American Correctional Association

ACA hosts bi-annual conferences in different cities around the U.S. The first conference is the "ACA Winter Conference" with the year included in the title before ACA. It holds its second annual conference, the Congress of Correction, during the summer. Notable speakers at ACA conferences have included General Richard Myers, Congressman Danny Davis, presidential campaign director Donna Brazile, presidential candidate and commentator Pat Buchanan, covert CIA agent Valerie Plame and her husband, Ambassador Joseph Wilson, TV anchor Laurie Dhue, political analyst Charlie Cook, and Rear Admiral Boris Lushniak.

In 1982, a 72-year-old senior judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, Judge David L. Bazelon, resigned from the governing panel of the ACA with a 21-page statement of criticism. Bazelon had three years remaining on his five-year term. He described its lack of transparency and accountability, its apparent willingness to bend to political influence, and its dual role as a trade group and accreditor. Bazelon pointed out the apparent conflict of interest, writing, "How can the commission in good conscience represent itself as 'independent' and 'unbiased' while being financially dependent on the objects of its scrutiny?"[22]

Bazelon also pointed out that ACA inspection teams at the Menard Correctional Center in Illinois, for example, did not even contact U.S. District Court Judge James L. Foreman, who had found the medical care so poor as to violate the constitution, and did not contact Dr. Lambert King, the special master Judge Foreman had appointed in 1980 to oversee the mandated improvements before they filed their approving reports.[22]

Later critics have named several other institutions that retained their ACA accreditations while outside parties found grave violence and/or court-ordered reforms.[23] These include:

• the private Otter Creek Correctional Center owned by CoreCivic in Floyd County, Kentucky, accredited in 2009 despite multiple charges of sexual abuse that caused the state of Hawaii to remove its inmates and the prison to be closed
• the Idaho State Correctional Center, in Kuna, operated by CoreCivic, which retained its good grades from ACA throughout a long proven pattern of violence in the prison, understaffing, operator contract fraud, and multiple federal investigations
• the private Walnut Grove Correctional Facility in Mississippi, operated by Cornell Corrections which corporation was purchased in 2010 by GEO Group, accredited in 2012 when it was a juvenile facility, the same year U.S. District Court Judge Carlton W. Reeves described it as "a cesspool of unconstitutional and inhuman acts"[24]

On November 5, 2014, Christopher B. Epps resigned from his position as ACA president, shortly before the announcement of his indictments on dozens of corruption charges. Epps had been identified by a federal investigation conducted by the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi called Operation Mississippi Hustle. He'd taken $1.47 million in kickbacks, from 16 corporations, for his role in awarding nearly $1 billion worth of private prison contracts.[25][26][27] Epps also resigned from his full-time job as Corrections Commissioner for the state of Mississippi on the same day.[27][28]

Epps pleaded guilty to money laundering and filing false tax returns. Many vendors were indicted, some pleaded guilty, one committed suicide, and eleven more suspects faced criminal bribery charges. The Assistant U.S. Attorney estimated the corruption's net benefit to prison contractors exceeded $65 million.[29] Epps personally received at least the bribes for steering what Assistant U.S. Attorney Darren LaMarca had first estimated at $800 million in contracts between 2006 and 2014.[30] Presiding Federal judge, Henry Travillion Wingate heard the cases of the others who were charged with bribing Epps.

Irb Benjamin was charged with bribery of Epps in connection with the contractual drug and alcohol treatment his company provided to MDOC prisons. Benjamin's indictment was announced on August 22, 2015. He was paid at least $862,000 to acquire and maintain ACA accreditation for jails in numerous counties. Passing ACA standards was required if they were to be awarded contracts to hold state prisoners.[31]

Benjamin had represented Alcorn County as a Democrat in the state House from 1976 to 1980 and state Senate from 1984 to 1992, later working for the Republican Lieutenant Governor. Alcorn County paid Benjamin, the president and lobbyist for Mississippi Correctional Management (MCM), $114,000 a year, although he lived more than 200 miles away. The Alcorn Board of Supervisors attorney said the supervisors had not been required to seek bids before giving Benjamin the contract as warden because it was a contract for services, which are exempt from bid laws.

Benjamin had received $5,000 a month to handle accreditation by the American Correctional Association for Alcorn's Regional Correctional Facility, and he had received another $4,500 a month as the jail's warden. Benjamin had formed MCM in 1996, when the state Department of Corrections and counties started hiring private contractors to operate prisons and smaller regional jails. It operated the Grenada County jail for years. Benjamin said the company also has jail accreditation contracts worth $4,000 or $5,000 a month with other counties including Chickasaw, Hancock, Holmes, Marion, Pearl River, Washington, and Yazoo. Prior to that he worked as a $3,000-a-month jail consultant for DeSoto County.

On June 8, 2008, DeSoto County Board of Supervisors supervisors approved the contract saying, "Mr. Benjamin was recommended by Commissioner Epps at the state level." On November 25, 2014, Benjamin said that he was not aware of the Epps recommendation.[32][33]

Benjamin pleaded guilty to federal charges on October 18, 2016.[34] He faced 10 years in prison, plus a fine of up to $250,000.[35] Federal presiding Judge Wingate sentenced Benjmain to 70 months in prison, fined Benjamin $100,000, and ordered him to forfeit $260,782.

Benjamin, who said he was "pressured", estimated he had paid Epps between $180,000 and $225,000 in cash bribes to secure support for the regional jails. His plea covered bribes that had been paid for drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs that his company ran. LaMarca told Wingate, "it's just a matter of time" until others whom Benjamin informed upon are indicted.[33]

On May 25, 2017, Epps received a federal prison sentence of almost 20 years.[36] Judge Wingate, who had been appointed to the federal bench in 1985, said, "This is the largest graft operation that certainly I have seen, and I have seen a lot."[37] Wingate cited the burglary of his former Flowood home by Epps as the reason why he gave a sentence that was much longer than the 13-year sentence recommended by prosecutors.[38]

Epps is being held at the Federal Correctional Institution, Seagoville in Texas, near Dallas. He is due to be released on November 25, 2033.[39]

James A. Gondles, Jr. became the Executive Director of ACA in 1990, after serving as the sheriff of Arlington County, Virginia. Court records indicate a long history of suits and allegations of mistreating his staff. Gondles was accused of sexual harassment, "acts of abuse of power", fraternizing and having sex with female deputies, bullying top aides, and targeting Arlington County employees who supported his opponent during his 1987 campaign for sheriff.[40] In 1988, while he was serving as Sheriff of Arlington County, the Citizens for Law and Constitution alleged that Gondles had performed "acts of abuse and power" as sheriff, such as bullying aides and bragging about having sex with female deputies. Also in 1988 Gondles settled a sexual harassment suit, brought by a female deputy, with a $25,000 payment and a public apology.[41]