Central Falls Lawmakers Seek To End RI Private Prison Operation

CENTRAL FALLS, RI — Two Central Falls lawmakers have introduced comprehensive reform legislation that would end private prisons in the state, ban housing Rhode Island prisoners in other states, and stop detention facilities from entering into contracts with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Rep. Joshua J. Giraldo and Sen. Jonathon Acosta, whose district also includes Pawtucket, announced the package of bills today. The legislation would repeal the Municipal Detention Facility Corporations law, and by the end of 2028 put an end to private operation of the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls.

“Our experimentation with private prisons has been a failure,” said Giraldo in a statement. “Not only do private prisons fail to provide the substantial savings we were promised, but they provide fewer correctional services while providing a greater risk to inmates and staff.”

“Justice shouldn’t be a moneymaking endeavor,” said Acosta. “We would be horrified if judges were paid on commission, based on the number of people they convicted, so why would we be OK with a prison system that benefits from higher numbers of incarcerations? Justice should never be dispensed with one eye looking at a profit margin.”

The Wyatt Detention Center has a renewed contract with ICE to house immigrants who are in civil detention, the two lawmakers said.

“ICE detainees in Rhode Island have been treated unfairly, they’ve been exposed to COVID, and have been denied the most basic rights that are afforded to even the most notorious criminals,” said Giraldo. “We refer to prisons as ‘correctional facilities,’ but with ICE detainees, there’s nothing to correct. It’s time to end the heinous practice of imprisoning these people in a private prison.”

“Rhode Island shouldn’t be in the business of incarcerating immigrants,” said Acosta. “These people are being treated as though they are among the worst of our criminals, when their only crime is their desire to become Americans.”

Other parts of the package would require safety inspections at Wyatt twice a year and prohibit financial institutions from investing in private detention centers. The bills have been referred to committee.

The Wyatt Detention Facility, established in 1993, is a publicly owned maximum-security correctional facility run by the private Central Falls Detention Facility Corporation. The facility was built for use by the U.S. Marshals Service, and now also houses immigrant detainees and U.S. Navy personnel in custody. A $47 million expansion was completed in December of 2006. The facility has a capacity of 770 male prisoners and 40 female detainees.

Patch has reached out to Daniel W. Martin, warden of the Wyatt Detention Facility, for comment.

Live in Central Falls? Click here to subscribe to our free breaking news alerts delivered to your inbox and mobile devices. Download our free Patch mobile app.