In September, MuckRock requested Special Incident Reports regarding Lake Erie Correctional Institution, operated by private prison giant Corrections Corporation of America. What we received were fascinating snapshots of days rife with makeshift weapons, contraband cell phones, and drug use ranging from marijuana to heroin

When Corrections Corporation of America bought the Lake Erie Correctional Institution from the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction in September 2011, Lake Erie became the first state prison to be sold to a private company. Just that August, the State’s Correctional Institution Inspection Committee had given the facility a positive review during its unannounced visit. By the next inspection, after a full year of CCA operation, the tone had changed.