Legal Definitions - private prison

A private prison is a facility for confinement of convicted criminals, especially felons, that is managed by a private company instead of a governmental agency.

For example, the GEO Group and CoreCivic are two of the largest private prison companies in the United States. They operate facilities that house inmates for state and federal governments.

This means that instead of the government running the prison, a private company is in charge. The company is paid by the government to provide services such as food, medical care, and security for the inmates.