Yesterday, I briefly noted that shares of GEO Group stock were on the rise after the Internal Revenue Service approved its request to restructure as a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT). Why would a corporation designed to house prisoners want to restructure as a real estate company? As it turns out, this month's edition of Prison Legal News -- arguably the most comprehensive publication worldwide devoted to prison trends -- published an explanation of the current REIT transition as well as some history of similar transitions in the past. That explanation is published below, in full, with permission from Alex Friedman, PLN's associate editor.