Inside America’s Private Prison Industry
Great article today at Salon from Alternet (who based its article off a damning report by the ACLU) which perhaps removes some of the mystery as to why America has such a massive incarceration rate, especially among non-violent offenders.
“any changes with respect to the decriminalization of drugs and controlled substances could affect the number of persons arrested, convicted, sentenced and incarcerated, thereby potentially reducing demand for correctional facilities to house them. Similarly, reductions in crime rates could lead to reductions in arrests, convictions and sentences requiring incarceration at correctional facilities. Immigration reform laws which are currently a focus for legislators and politicians at the federal, state and local level also could materially adversely impact us.”
—The GEO Group ($2.5 billion in assets) in its 2010 annual report. GEO is one of America’s largest for-profit prison providers.
If this isn’t a conflict of interest between the citizens of the United States and bloated corporations, then I don’t know what is. Want to live in a society which has sensible laws, lower crime, and maybe some more compassion? You gotta get through the billionaires first, ya no-good commie.
