Rivers Correctional Institution is a privately owned prison in unincorporated

Hertford County, North Carolina Hertford County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 21,552. Its county seat is Winton. It is classified within the region known in the 21st century as the Inner Banks. History ...

, operated by

GEO Group The GEO Group, Inc. (GEO) is a publicly traded C corporation that invests in private prisons and mental health facilities in North America, Australia, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. Headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida, the company's ...

under contract with the

Federal Bureau of Prisons The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Justice that is responsible for the care, custody, and control of incarcerated individuals who have committed federal crimes; that i ...

since its construction in 2001. The prison, on of land, was specially built to house prisoners from the District of Columbia. It is about from the town of Winton and about from Washington, DC.Pierre, Robert E. "N.C. Prison Doesn't Serve D.C. Inmates Well, Critics Say." ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large na ...

''. October 14, 2007. p
1

. Retrieved on February 5, 2016. The first inmates were transferred from the Lorton Reformatory of the District of Columbia Department of Corrections, which closed in 2001. Under the

National Capital Revitalization and Self-Government Improvement Act of 1997 The National Capital Revitalization and Self-Government Improvement Act of 1997, also known as the Revitalization Act, was enacted on August 5, 1997, with provisions to reform the criminal justice system in Washington, D.C. The act was spearheaded ...

, offenders of the District of Columbia at Rivers and elsewhere serve time in FBOP custody; they committed no federal crime but instead had committed DC crimes. Most prisoners stay around two years and had been sent to Rivers because they violated parole conditions and/or committed drug offenses. As of 2007 DC inmates made up about 66% of the about 1,400 prisoners. In 2009 the prison housed about 800-900 prisoners sentenced under DC law. In addition, the prison also houses non-U.S. citizens who were convicted of violating federal law. As of 2009 the prison had about 400-500 foreign prisoners,Fornaci, Philip (Director of the DC Prisoners' Project).
Federal Bureau of Prisons Oversight Hearing

Archive
. Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security. U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary. July 21, 2009. p. 2. Retrieved on February 5, 2016. and in 2007 about 200 of the prisoners were nationals of Mexico.Pierre, Robert E. "N.C. Prison Doesn't Serve D.C. Inmates Well, Critics Say." ''

''. October 14, 2007. p
3

. Retrieved on February 5, 2016.

Operations

, there is one on-site physician in the prison. No on-site medical service was provided, and the doctor worked fewer than 40 hours per week. Comparably-sized BOP facilities had at least two full-time physicians and weekend on-site medical services.Fornaci, Philip (Director of the DC Prisoners' Project).
Federal Bureau of Prisons Oversight Hearing

Archive
. Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security. U.S. House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary. July 21, 2009. p. 3. Retrieved on February 5, 2016. Robert E. Pierre of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...

'' wrote in 2007 that due to the lack of job opportunities and drug treatment, Rivers "has become a symbol for what inmates, their families and city leaders say is harsher treatment of D.C. inmates in federal prisons compared with other inmates." In 2009 Philip Fornaci, the director of the DC Prisoners' Project, described the medical care at Rivers as "abysmal". Fornaci recalled receiving complaints shortly after the facility opened in 2002. The Washington Lawyers' Committee, with help from

Covington & Burling Covington & Burling LLP is an American multinational law firm. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the firm advises clients on transactional, litigation, regulatory, and public policy matters. In 2021, Vault.com ranked Covington & Burling as ...

, filed a class action lawsuit ''Collins et al. v. GEO Group et al'', Civ. No. 08-CV-00021-H, ED North Carolina in regards to the medical situation. Both the BOP and GEO blamed each other for the situation, stating that each other agency is responsible. In August 2016, Justice Department officials announced that the FBOP would be phasing out its use of contracted facilities, because private prisons provided less safe and less effective services with no substantial cost savings. The agency had expected to allow current contracts on its thirteen remaining private facilities to expire. However,

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Jeff Sessions Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III (born December 24, 1946) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 84th United States Attorney General from 2017 to 2018. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as United Stat ...

criticized the August 2016 decision and reversed it on February 22, 2017. The prison's contract is expected to be renewed as it approaches expiration.

Notable inmates

*Joaquin Valencia-Trujillo - Former leader of the

Cali Cartel The Cali Cartel ( es, Cartel de Cali) was a drug cartel based in southern Colombia, around the city of Cali and the Valle del Cauca. Its founders were the brothers Gilberto Rodríguez Orejuela and Miguel Rodríguez Orejuela. They broke away f ...

in Colombia; extradited to the US in 2004; convicted in 2006 of

drug trafficking A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via insuffla ...

conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agr ...

for directing the shipment of more than 100 tons of

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from the leaves of two Coca species native to South Am ...

a year into the US over a ten-year period. He is scheduled to be released on 12/06/2037.

References

{{Federal Bureau of Prisons GEO Group Prisons in North Carolina Buildings and structures in Hertford County, North Carolina 2001 establishments in North Carolina