Contractor Authority

Factual Questions
1

In the New York Times today is another horror story about a guy who died in a contractor-run prison. He was being held for immigration charges.

Consider two cases. A prisoner gives a sworn correctional officer a hard time. The CO suits up and uses forces (say a stun gun) on the guy. The officer cannot usually be charged with assault as he is acting as an agent of the government.

(Of course he could be charged if he overstepped his bounds and a grand jury can investigate whatever it likes.)

Same thing, only now the prison is run by a contractor, and the CO is not a sworn officer. Obviously, there is some sort of immunity for the contractor, but at the moment, it is escaping me. Is the contractor immune in the same way the government employee is? Under some other sort of law?

I feel I am missing something here.

2

A gentle bump and then we’ll let this one die.

3

I would think before the contractor gets a contract to run the prison they pass laws to clarify what happens in those cases. (or at least put that stuff into the contract) Or maybe they don’t pass the laws needed until the first problem shows up.

4

I was kind of hoping for an answer too. I deal with corrections officers all the time but we don’t have any private prisons. All the COs I deal with are either County or State law enforcement officers.