BY MICHAEL HAWTHORNE
Enquirer Columbus Bureau
COLUMBUS -- Owners of a trouble-plagued private prison in Youngstown are trying to make up with angry legislators who were turned away during a surprise inspection.
In a letter released Tuesday, Jimmy Turner, warden at the Northeast Ohio Correctional Facility, apologized for his staff's failure to comply with state regulations on private prisons.
State lawmakers adopted the rules after two inmates were stabbed to death this year at the Youngstown prison, owned by the Nashville-based Corrections Corp. of America.
"Considering the political and media spotlight under which the Youngstown facility has been in recent weeks, I hope that you understand the cautious approach exhibited by my staff," Mr. Turner wrote in the letter to members of the Correctional Institution Inspection Committee.
"I can assure you that on a going forward basis, you and your colleagues and - or appointed experts will be afforded the opportunity to a full tour and inspection, as statutorily required," Mr. Turner added.
Sen. Rhine McLin, a Dayton Democrat who chairs the inspection panel, made an unannounced visit to the prison on April 30. Accompanying her was Rep. Mark Mallory, D-Cincinnati, and two representatives of the union that represents Ohio's state-employed prison guards. After conferring with corporate officials in Nashville, the prison's non-union staff refused to allow the group to proceed together. Instead, they offered to conduct a separate tour for the union officials, but the group declined and left after a four-hour wait.
Mr. Turner said he was on an airplane at the time of the incident and wasn't able to resolve the dispute before it became a public relations disaster. His letter noted that state law allows the inspection panel to make surprise visits and rely on outside technical advisers.
The apology didn't satisfy Mr. Mallory, who said the group was turned away even though he showed the prison staff a copy of the state law regulating private prisons.
"I'm not sure why they didn't have a clear understanding of the Ohio Revised Code on the day we were there," Mr. Mallory said. "Whoever was in charge should have been able to make the decision to allow us immediate and total access."
The Youngstown prison, designed for 1,500 inmates, has 1,700 from crowded prisons in Washington, D.C., and Lorton, Va.
Thirteen inmates have been stabbed at the Youngstown prison since it opened in May 1997. Two were stabbed to death in as many months this year. By contrast, in all of 1997 in all of Ohio's state prisons, no inmates were killed.
