Inside the opaque world of outsourced, privately run prisons around the country, there's an even less-understood, minimally regulated sub-industry that specializes in transporting extradited prisoners across state lines. It is a deadly serious business that operates in a legal gray area and appears to be accountable to no one when prisoners are maimed, medically neglected or killed during transport.

These companies typically operate vans that are packed with prisoners and travel long, circuitous routes to deliver them to jails and prisons covering 26 states. Missouri and Illinois are among the states that are smart enough, so far, not to contract with these companies. They must keep it that way.

Guards and drivers often are required to work grueling schedules, but unlike interstate truckers, they don't always abide by federal safety rules governing rest breaks and the number of hours spent behind the wheel. Some drivers have fallen asleep and crashed their vehicles, causing death or injury to prisoners under their care.

Reporters for the nonprofit The Marshall Project news organization recently published results of an investigation on ways prisoners have been abused or fatally injured while shackled, sometimes for days at a time, in the back of transport vans. Since the vehicles cross multiple state lines, it becomes exceedingly difficult to determine which state holds jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute a homicide or abuse.

Particularly disturbing is the case of Steven Galack, a former home remodeler who was living in Florida when he was arrested on a warrant from Ohio for failing to pay child support. According to The Marshall Project and The New York Times, responsibility for Galack's more than thousand-mile journey to face a judge in Ohio fell to Prisoner Transportation Services, the nation's largest for-profit extradition company.

He never made it. His transport van contained a cage, where 10 other prisoners were packed together, handcuffed and shackled. There was no room to lie down. The air conditioning was broken, making the interior exceedingly hot in the 90-degree heat.

Galack reportedly became delirious and made so much noise that the guards lost their patience. In Georgia, on the third day of Galack's trip, two guards allegedly told other prisoners to beat him, but only with "body shots." In other words, leave no marks on the face or head.

They didn't tend to his battered and bloodied body until 70 miles farther down the road, in Tennessee. Tennessee authorities punted the case back to Georgia. Georgia authorities declined to follow up. Justice was never served.

The drive to privatize doesn't always bring greater efficiency. It certainly doesn't produce more accountability or transparency for taxpayers. This is one case where the public's interest is better served by keeping prisoner transport services entirely under government management.

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