A private prison is struggling to find facilities to take in nearly 800 inmates before its contract with the federal government expires in three months, Cleveland.com reported.
There are “no safe or logistically viable alternatives for the Marshals Service,” CoreCivic said in a statement, Cleveland.com reported.
Inmates were previously held at county and city jails that received federal funding through local budgets, according to Cleveland.com.
“The President’s Executive Order of Jan. 26, 2021, regarding the use of private prisons, is currently under review by the U.S. Marshals Service, in close coordination with the Department of Justice,” U.S. Marshals Spokesperson Lynzey Donahue told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
The marshals service declined to answer any specific questions related to the executive order.
“This is a first step to stop corporations from profiting off of incarceration,” Biden said, the AP reported.
Officials are reportedly concerned that there may not be enough detention beds available to relocate inmates in northeast Ohio, according to Cleveland.com. The Northeast Ohio Correctional Center also holds around 850 people from the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.
“There are concerns about our ability to effectively represent our clients if they are moved outside the district,” the federal public defender for northern Ohio, Stephen Newman, said, Cleveland.com reported. “Access to our clients is very important.”
Cleveland criminal defense and civil rights attorney Terry Gilbert said “if you don’t have a substitute plan, then you have a problem,” Cleveland.com reported. “If they are going to terminate the contract, they better have some place that is safe–with health care, mental health and other programs, as well as access to private attorney visitation rooms.”
