If you have ever contemplated the moral quagmire of "prisons for profit," you aren't alone.
Recently CCA (Corrections Corporation of America) courted controversy and the outrage of justice reform groups when it was revealed that they were offering to buy state owned prisons in exchange for a 20 year pledge by the states to keep the prisons at least 90% full of prisoners.
In this "speed trap" version of justice, we are already seeing historically high incarceration numbers and often for minor offenses. States can apply for more federal funding to meet the perceived increased need, so states lock up greater numbers of people to get the funding, which they then use on whatever they wish.
If the states are contracted to meet a minimum occupancy without incurring fines, it's hard to see how judges would have the ability or incentive to weigh the particulars of an actual case to determine in an incarceration was warranted.
The concerns aren't simply hypothetical. Just last year, Judge Mark Ciavarella was sentenced to 10 years in prison after children to a private Juvenal prison in exchange for kickbacks. It is estimated that he earned over $1 million in the so called "kids for cash" scheme. He isn't alone.
Thankfully, organizations that initially supported the private prison system are starting to take a second look. Last month, the United Methodist Church announced that it had withdrawn financial support of almost $1 million in stocks from the CCA and another private prison group, GEO Group.
Read the article here.
Private prisons are at their very core, contrary to both Christian values and those of a Judeo-Christian society. There is no element of rehabilitation. Only to need for larger and larger numbers of incarcerated Americans.
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