Gold In Them There Jails

Charles M. Blow’s op-ed column in the May 26 New York Times dealt with the disproportionally high rate of incarceration in the Louisiana penal system which is run by a private interests. The story dealt with the obvious ethical impropriety of privatized incarceration which is the point of this letter. But preliminary exploration of the subject on Wikipedia showed that this isn’t even a good business arrangement.   State run studies on costs, in contrast to the predictable results of those conducted by participating corporations, range from “insufficient information” to “no difference.” What is telling about these results is that “private facilities often refuse to accept inmates that cost the most to house” which could make them appear more efficient. This presumably excludes the sicker or older as well as greater security risks. In the latter department control of internees in private prisons has statistically proved to be inefficient compared to public facilities. Lawsuits have been filed in several states against corporations for violent acts committed by escaped inmates, including murder   Until the l980s, private participation in the penal system was limited to transporting prisoners. This changed when the “war on drugs” began filling jails. Corporations, seeing the opportunity, convinced several states, “mostly in the South and West,” to turn over housing of their prisons. How do you think these people stand on relaxing penalties for marijuana possession? Is it coincidental that they are also contributors to ALEC, a right wing group that has developed model bills advocating initiatives that are “tough on crime” including “Truth in Sentencing” and “Three Strikes” laws that “directly influence legislation for tougher longer sentences?”   The immorality of this alliance has been recognized by Presbyterian Church (U.S.A) and United Methodist Church which have called for its abolition. Several states have banned it outright. For the bottom line of corporation’s P&L statement being directly related to the frequency and length of jail sentences determined by an individual jurist is unconscionable. The fact that some of those who have condemned others to jail have themselves later spent time as invited guests in these facilities speaks for itself.   Most of us might wince a bit at seeing a meter maid writing a ticket for our violating a municipal parking ordinance. The fact that our municipality may benefit does nothing to soften the blow. Imagine the meter maid were wearing judicial robes, the beneficiary a private corporation with which the person wearing the robes might be “favorably disposed” and the penalty is jail time which would become an indelible part of our record for life.