Cornell Companies (NYSE:CRN) was an American corporation that operated correctional facilities, contracting them to state and local governments.

Furthermore, Cornell held significant contracts with the Departments of Corrections in various states, including Alaska, California, Colorado, Mississippi, and Arizona.

[2][3][4][5] Cornell Alaska partner Bill Weimar subsequently pleaded guilty to two counts of corruption and was sentenced to federal prison.

[10] The 200 prison guard jobs helped employ townspeople who had been laid off by closure of a local garment manufacturing plant.

[9] Walnut Grove received payment in lieu of taxes from the prison corporation, monies that made up 15% of its annual budget.

[9] William Grady Sims, mayor of Walnut Grove since 1981, profited from the revenues of 18 vending machines he had installed at the WGCF.

[12] In November 2010, plaintiffs represented by the Southern Poverty Law Center and the ACLU National Prison Project filed a federal class-action lawsuit against GEO and the state agencies that contracted for the facility, saying that the prison authorities allowed abuses and negligence to occur at the facility.