Privatized Prison System
With the United States being the land of the free, you would expect to see very low incarceration rates, but this isn’t the case. Crime rates in the American metropolis areas are blown completely off of the scale when compared to other countries around the world. Which leads to the question, “ why does the United States incarcerate more people than any other country?” through the duration of this essay I will attempt to reveal and provide possible solutions to the ethical problems associated with the United States prison system, more directly the business that was created by the incarceration of human beings with privatized prison systems. Making money off of the imprisonment of other people is morally wrong, therefore …show more content…
“As of 2015 25% of the world’s incarcerated population was held in the U.S.” (Sanders, 2015). With so many people to lock up, the U.S. started to run out of room to house all of the people, which then opened the opportunity for individuals to own and operate a prison. Once this new business took hold, it completely blew up. From the span of 1990-2009 the number of people incarcerated in a privately owned prison grew 1600%, and now, they hold 21% of the prisoners in America.
The question that I asked myself when looking at the growth of private prisons was, “what is the reason behind the exponential growth.” The answer is sadly not as simple as the question. The main reason that they continue to grow is because “2/3 of private prison contracts require a certain …show more content…
These private prison systems, have many questionable tactics to get who they want in to office, and in doing so are obfuscating justice. Through their lavish campaign contributions and efforts to control information, they can get people in power who support policies that incarcerate Americans and immigrants alike, for non-violent crimes, and it’s just for their paycheck. One of the most well-known examples of this horrific topic was the “kids for cash” scandal. An owner of two private youth detention centers was continually paying off two judges to send kids for prolonged periods of time to a correctional facility for very petty crimes. With this not being the only available example, it is quite easy to see how if we do not stop, or at least slow the growth of private prisons, they will continue to obscure
With the United States being the land of the free, you would expect to see very low incarceration rates, but this isn’t the case. Crime rates in the American metropolis areas are blown completely off of the scale when compared to other countries around the world. Which leads to the question, “ why does the United States incarcerate more people than any other country?” through the duration of this essay I will attempt to reveal and provide possible solutions to the ethical problems associated with the United States prison system, more directly the business that was created by the incarceration of human beings with privatized prison systems. Making money off of the imprisonment of other people is morally wrong, therefore …show more content…
“As of 2015 25% of the world’s incarcerated population was held in the U.S.” (Sanders, 2015). With so many people to lock up, the U.S. started to run out of room to house all of the people, which then opened the opportunity for individuals to own and operate a prison. Once this new business took hold, it completely blew up. From the span of 1990-2009 the number of people incarcerated in a privately owned prison grew 1600%, and now, they hold 21% of the prisoners in America.
The question that I asked myself when looking at the growth of private prisons was, “what is the reason behind the exponential growth.” The answer is sadly not as simple as the question. The main reason that they continue to grow is because “2/3 of private prison contracts require a certain …show more content…
These private prison systems, have many questionable tactics to get who they want in to office, and in doing so are obfuscating justice. Through their lavish campaign contributions and efforts to control information, they can get people in power who support policies that incarcerate Americans and immigrants alike, for non-violent crimes, and it’s just for their paycheck. One of the most well-known examples of this horrific topic was the “kids for cash” scandal. An owner of two private youth detention centers was continually paying off two judges to send kids for prolonged periods of time to a correctional facility for very petty crimes. With this not being the only available example, it is quite easy to see how if we do not stop, or at least slow the growth of private prisons, they will continue to obscure