Private Prisons: Political and Practical Concerns
The United States is a prison society. We have the second highest incarceration rate in the world (second to only the small island country of Seychelles), have almost as many current prisoners as China and Russia put together, and sentence convicts to longer sentences than most other governments (Walmsley, 2015; Human Rights Watch, 2014). We are the only country in the world that sentences minors to life without parole and, up until 2005, the law allowed for the execution of people for crimes they committed while under 18 years old, with the last of such executions happening in 2003 (Human Rights Watch, 2014; Roper v. Simmons, 2005; Reuters, 2003). Many defendants take plea bargains for crimes …show more content…
After seemingly being dealt a heavy blow by the Obama Administration announcing the rollback in use of private prisons at the federal level in 2016, the Trump Administration’s pro-privatization stance has revitalized the industry. Private prison companies such as CoreCivic and the GEO Group – the two largest private prison operators in the United States - gave President Trump’s campaign hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions and, the day after Donald Trump was elected President, saw huge stock increases – 43% and 21%, respectively (“Private Prisons Thrive Again,” 2017). However, the federal system is much smaller than the state systems, so even if private prisons in the federal system were eliminated, only about 25% of private prison inmates would be affected (Carson, 2016).
This paper will explore the moral, legal, and societal implications of keeping people locked up for profit. Additionally, I will explore the practical question of if private prisons actually do save money and how they compare to publicly run facilities with regards to safety of prisoners and staff, recidivism rates, and quality of …show more content…
Historically, using private prisoners as low-cost laborers (while paying them many times less than the legal minimum wage during the periods where it has existed) to make up for some of the cost of housing has fallen in to and out of favor; it was de facto banned in 1940 (King, 2012a) because of widespread allegations of abuse and corruption, and more recently become legal again. But the phenomenon of using prisoner’s bodies themselves as items to be warehoused for profit is relatively new (Mattera & Khan, 2001). The first company to do so in the United States, Corrections Corporation of America (now CoreCivic), first bought out a hotel in Houston, TX in 1983 to use as a temporary detention center for illegal immigrants while they built a permanent facility. By 1984, CoreCivic and other security companies such as Wackenhut Corporation (now known as the GEO Group) were offering to completely run already established state and federal prisons and build new facilities in order to keep up with the growing demand. These demands were due to the exponential increase in prisoners and sentences that was occurring primarily because of a series of harsher drug and sentencing laws being passed throughout the country. The benefits offered to states was three-fold: private corporations
The United States is a prison society. We have the second highest incarceration rate in the world (second to only the small island country of Seychelles), have almost as many current prisoners as China and Russia put together, and sentence convicts to longer sentences than most other governments (Walmsley, 2015; Human Rights Watch, 2014). We are the only country in the world that sentences minors to life without parole and, up until 2005, the law allowed for the execution of people for crimes they committed while under 18 years old, with the last of such executions happening in 2003 (Human Rights Watch, 2014; Roper v. Simmons, 2005; Reuters, 2003). Many defendants take plea bargains for crimes …show more content…
After seemingly being dealt a heavy blow by the Obama Administration announcing the rollback in use of private prisons at the federal level in 2016, the Trump Administration’s pro-privatization stance has revitalized the industry. Private prison companies such as CoreCivic and the GEO Group – the two largest private prison operators in the United States - gave President Trump’s campaign hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions and, the day after Donald Trump was elected President, saw huge stock increases – 43% and 21%, respectively (“Private Prisons Thrive Again,” 2017). However, the federal system is much smaller than the state systems, so even if private prisons in the federal system were eliminated, only about 25% of private prison inmates would be affected (Carson, 2016).
This paper will explore the moral, legal, and societal implications of keeping people locked up for profit. Additionally, I will explore the practical question of if private prisons actually do save money and how they compare to publicly run facilities with regards to safety of prisoners and staff, recidivism rates, and quality of …show more content…
Historically, using private prisoners as low-cost laborers (while paying them many times less than the legal minimum wage during the periods where it has existed) to make up for some of the cost of housing has fallen in to and out of favor; it was de facto banned in 1940 (King, 2012a) because of widespread allegations of abuse and corruption, and more recently become legal again. But the phenomenon of using prisoner’s bodies themselves as items to be warehoused for profit is relatively new (Mattera & Khan, 2001). The first company to do so in the United States, Corrections Corporation of America (now CoreCivic), first bought out a hotel in Houston, TX in 1983 to use as a temporary detention center for illegal immigrants while they built a permanent facility. By 1984, CoreCivic and other security companies such as Wackenhut Corporation (now known as the GEO Group) were offering to completely run already established state and federal prisons and build new facilities in order to keep up with the growing demand. These demands were due to the exponential increase in prisoners and sentences that was occurring primarily because of a series of harsher drug and sentencing laws being passed throughout the country. The benefits offered to states was three-fold: private corporations