Read the article. As was commented on the LV, you all NEED TO READ THE ARTICLE. Don't let inmate family members or staff with an ax to grind use this article to scare you. This article has nothing to do with privitization. All the state is doing is selling the building and then renting them back from whoever they sold them too. If you read the article, they also said they did this with buildings from the Tuscon Police department. Is the Tuson Police department private? I didn't think so.
One interesting note in the article is where they talk about the fact that most investors won't want to buy the property unless the state can asssure them that they will be operating the property for the next 20+ years. So if anything, chasing consession agreements (privitization) might throw a wrench in the sale/leaseback plans. It will be interesting to see what happens with that.