W. Scott Hatten is one of the recent additions to the staff at the private, for-profit prison, owned and operated by Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), and located in Florence, Arizona. Apparently hired as an “investigator,” his most notable characteristics are those of being an abusive, self-important, arrogant braggart. Hatten has claimed to be an ex-operative for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), a “spy hunter,” and a former interrogator at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, among other things.
In the performance of his job as “investigator,” Hatten routinely threatens and cajoles prisoners with the loss of their jobs, if they refuse to give him information, the promise of providing jobs to prisoners who will give him information, and, as a matter of routine, will offer to trade contraband in exchange for information about contraband. While claiming to have extraordinary “arrest powers,” beyond those possessed by any other K-Mart store detective, he has had prisoners placed in administrative segregation for refusing to give him information that he thinks they may possess or for refusing to speak with him altogether. Once prisoners are placed in segregation, Hatten has had them ordered brought to his office in R & D, and, if the prisoner refuses to go to his office to be questioned, Hatten has ordered them to be pepper-sprayed and physically forced to his office – an action that may constitute a felony assault under both Alaska and Arizona statutes. Even more egregious, he has been reported to say, while passing the cell of an uncooperative prisoner, “thanks for the information, it panned out really well,” loudly enough for his comment to be heard by prisoners in adjoining cells.
Within the last couple weeks, one prisoner, who approached the Unit staff podium, told Hatten “good morning,” to which Hatten replied, “I’ll lock down your whole pod.” When the prisoner asked him what he was talking about, Hatten replied “don’t talk to me, or I’ll lock down your whole pod.”
In another incident where Hatten showed his true colors, an officer standing at a corridor gate, and in the presence of several prisoners, asked Hatten if “he had a full plate?” To which Hatten replied that he was busy, but “compared to hunting spies, this is like shooting fish in a barrel.”
In reality, Hatten has no more “arrest powers” than any other citizen, including that of prisoners themselves – it is called a citizen’s arrest. Regardless of his CCA job title, by Arizona statute, CCA employees are not legally even “Correctional Officers,” but are, instead, “private security guards.” If Hatten is ex-CIA, then it is hoped that he is “ex-“ BECAUSE his former masters discovered that he has a penchant for running off at the mouth. And, if Hatten was ever a “spy hunter,” or is a former interrogator from Guantanamo Bay, then he stands as living proof of why the term “government intelligence” has become an oxymoron.
As a matter of course, prisoners should not feel compelled to speak with Hatten under any circumstances. If represented by counsel, then provide Hatten with your lawyer’s name and telephone number and refuse to speak further. If you are not represented by counsel, then refuse to speak with Hatten unless and until counsel is provided by and actual agency of the State. As the material accompanying this essay demonstrates, always document Hatten’s statements to you. Save all of your paperwork, if any is provided, and file grievances should Hatten insist on any further contact with you, or threatens you with any consequences for being “non-cooperative”. This organization (prisoners.org) is always interested in obtaining copies of this documentation.
It is easy to argue that W. Scott Hatten’s actions violate the Constitution, statutes, and regulations of the State of Alaska, as well as the Policies and Procedures of the Alaska Department of Corrections (ADOC). When will the ADOC contract supervisors begin to act to enforce the terms of the contract between ADOC and CCA? Hatten’s actions are but another in a long list of deprivations and abuses that exiled Alaska Prisoners suffer in this facility. Those deprivations include; medical mistreatment and indifference, the denial of rehabilitation through insufficient treatment, educational and vocational programming taught by unqualified, uncertified instructors, and the lack of communication and visitation with family, friends, and community members who are unable to afford the cost of long distance calls and travel from Alaska to Arizona, even the use of Alaska prisoners as slave labor by a CCA sub-contractor (Canteen) to satisfy its contractual obligations to a county facility.
The question still begs asking: Hey CIA is this your boy? Let’s ask them.
Anthony L. Brown CCA/FCC 2/28/6