CCA chief John Ferguson gives back to company, but only after making $11 million last year

While Corrections Corporation of America is dealing with the fallout from the indictment of one of its former supervisors for sexual abuse of detained female immigrants at the company's T. Don Hutto detention center, another interesting article in the Nashville Post (Geert De Lombaerde, "Out of options," August 17) caught my eye:

Former Corrections Corp. of America CEO — and current chairman — John Ferguson has taken one for the team. Ferguson has signed a deal with the prison management firm to hand over almost 166,000 stock options so the company can divvy them out to other employees. The options would have expired in 2017 and 2018. It’s a magnanimous gesture, to be sure, and consistent with Ferguson’s request last year that he not be given equity awards.

But it’s also worth pointing out that Ferguson, who led CCA for more than nine years, last year pocketed $11 million from the exercising of options and still controls another $13 million in company stock. Plus, the surrendered options had strike prices above $26, where CCA (Ticker: CXW) hasn’t traded since September of 2008.

We pointed out last week that GEO Group's top executives also brought in nearly more than $7 million and $3 million respectively, and that all of this wealth is accumulated through taxpayer dollars.