Our Mission & Values
The Carceral Accountability Council, based in Leavenworth, Kansas, was founded in 2025 to address injustices in the prison system, especially focusing on abuses by for-profit facilities like CoreCivic. Our mission is to promote transparency, justice, and humane treatment through advocacy, public awareness, and holding corporations accountable. We value justice, transparency, community engagement, human rights, and nonviolence, working tirelessly to create meaningful change.
Our Core Position On CoreCivic
Position 1
CoreCivic’s profit-driven track record demonstrates a disregard for safety and oversight, rendering it untrustworthy to manage the Leavenworth facility. This poses serious risks to community safety, detainee well-being particularly minors vulnerable to sexual assault and the broader public, as CoreCivic’s pattern of understaffing and neglect consistently endangers everyone in its facilities nationwide. Their history of prioritizing profits over humane conditions, including restricting access to legal and familial support, underscores the urgent need to reconsider their role in managing detention operations at Leavenworth
Position 2
The presence of the CoreCivic facility will place significant strain on local police, hospitals, and community resources, exacerbating existing understaffing and infrastructure challenges in Leavenworth. Detainees with complex medical needs will rely on local services, and law enforcement will face increased demands to respond to incidents and investigate crimes within the facility. Moreover, compliance with DHS PREA standards will further burden community resources by requiring local support for victims of sexual abuse among detained migrants. Ultimately, this jeopardizes the stability and safety of Leavenworth’s already overstretched infrastructure and public safety systems
Position 3
Leavenworth’s community has demonstrated strong opposition to re-opening the ICE detention facility, with nearly 2,000 signatures on a petition and a unanimous 2023 vote by county officials to halt discussions on its conversion. The city has a vital opportunity to move beyond the label of a prison town and instead envision a future rooted in growth, diversity, and positive community development, rather than expanding its role as a detention hub.
Position 4
