The Land of the Free houses 1/4 of the planets inmates, we incarcerate more people per capita than any other nation. Even more than those "Rat Bastard Commies" over in China, Russia and North Korea.
In 2010 Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) and The GEO Group, made $3 billion. And the top executives for those companies received $3 million in performance bonus. Performance? What sort of performance? Best lobbying practices? I mean really, they literally have a CAPTIVE and almost never ending flow of "merchandise."
In 2000 only about ten percent of the nations inmates were housed in for pay prisons. Today, nearly fifty percent.
The three largest private prison companies — the CCA, GEO, and Management & Training Corporation (MTC) has spent $50 million lobbying federal, state and local lawmakers to maintain the criminalization of nonviolent crimes such as drug possession and increasing punishments for other crimes like DUI rather than rehabilitation. Imagine the financial blow to these companies’ bottom line if the U.S. followed Colorado’s lead and legalized marijuana or did like in most European nations and emphasized treating the illness instead of punishing the symptom.
Because crime rates have been dropping steadily for the past decade, some private prisons, looking out for their bottom line, have resorted to making contractual agreements with judges to keep their facilities filled to between 90 and 100 percent capacity.
A new report from In The Public Interest (ITPI) reveals six facts that are hard to take. Of course the Hate State sticks out like a broken thumb.
Arizona's new Governor, Steve Ducey announced that he plans to spend an additional $70 million a year to lock up more inmates in Arizona while cutting $75 million dollars in aid for state universities.
Three Arizona for-profit prison contracts have a staggering 100% quota, even though a 2012 analysis from Tucson Citizen shows that the company’s per-day charge for each prisoner has increased an average of 13.9% over the life of the contracts.
65 percent of the private prison contracts ITPI received and analyzed included occupancy guarantees in the form of quotas or required payments for empty prison cells (a “low-crime tax”). These quotas and low-crime taxes put taxpayers on the hook for guaranteeing profits for private prison corporations. Occupancy guarantee clauses in private prison contracts range between 80% and 100%, with 90% as the most frequent occupancy guarantee requirement.
Louisiana, Oklahoma and Virginia are locked in contracts with the highest occupancy guarantee requirements, with all quotas requiring between 95% and 100% occupancy. Though crime has dropped by a third in the past decade, an occupancy requirement covering three for-profit prisons has forced taxpayers in Colorado to pay an additional $2 million.
A 20-year deal to privately operate the Lake Erie Correctional Institution in Ohio includes a 90% quota, and has contributed to cutting corners on safety, including overcrowding, areas without secure doors and an increase in crime both inside the prison and in the surrounding community.
The U.S. is locking up more illegal immigrants than ever, the nation's largest prison companies are seeing a "Gold Rush", and not only have the Incarcerate for Fee companies spent tens of millions of dollars lobbying lawmakers they have also spent an almost equal amount contributing to campaigns. The cost to tax payers in 2012 to incarcerate immigrants was over $2 billion and the companies will get their biggest cut yet in the next few years with government plans for new camps.
Pedro Guzman a Guatemalan native spent 20 months in private prisons run by CCA in Gainesville and Lumpkin, Georgia. Why so long to give him a hearing on his deportation order? The answer is simple, profit.
Guzman was finally granted legal permanent residency. After his release he stated, "It's a millionaire's business, and they are living off profits from each one of the people who go through there every single night, It's our money that we earn as taxpayers every day that goes to finance this."
After a decade of expansion, the sprawling private system is largely controlled by just three companies. Three companies,.. I don't know, there is just something wrong with that word "companies" when used in connection with crime and punishment. I think FASCISTS or CORPORATISTS to be appropriate words or even better "Purveyors Debt Bondage." To help recover the cost of occupancy quotas states are increasing fess and fines for those who are unfortunate to run afoul of the law. Guess what happens if you can not pay your fees and fines? That's right you go back to jail. Either your local, county or state. You see if you do not pay your fees and fines, you are in violation of the terms of your parole or probation and when you violate. You go to jail to rack up more fees. For one example read: The Outskirts of Hope: How Ohio’s Debtors' Prisons are Ruining Lives and Costing Communities
The U.S. detains more youth per capita than any other nation. Since 2007, 200 reports of sexual abuse on detainees have been documented, though the American Civil Liberties Union believes the number to be much higher. Youth lost? Innocents lost?
Not for Ethan Couch a 16-year-old sentenced in a Fort Worth juvenile court to 10 years of probation after he confessed to intoxication manslaughter in the June 15, 2013 crash on a rural road. According to officials, the teenager and some friends were seen on surveillance video stealing two cases of beer from a store. He had seven passengers in his Ford F-350, was speeding and had a blood-alcohol level three times the legal limit, according to testimony during the trial. The pickup fatally struck four pedestrians: Brian Jennings, 43; Breanna Mitchell, 24; Shelby Boyles, 21; and her mother Hollie Boyles, 52.
Prosecutors had sought 20 years in prison. His defense argued that therapy was more appropriate and put a psychologist on the stand who testified about, say it with me... affluenza.
af·flu·en·za
ˌaflo͞oˈenzə/
noun
1. a psychological malaise supposedly affecting wealthy young people, symptoms of which include a lack of motivation, feelings of guilt, and a sense of isolation.
Is there a poor kids version of affluenza? I'm all for treatment before incarceration for most infractions, but you have to be consistent in your sentencing. Ethan doesn't have to worry about prison rape or being caged for a significant portion of his life. Pedro Guzman spent almost two years of his young life behind bars for no other reason than being an immigrant. Ethan walks, only rich people get away with such things.
Facts of the matter are, if you walk into a courtroom with a court appointed attorney a.k.a. Public Defender, it's not much better than having no attorney at all.
Then again if you are a wealthy stockbroker from Colorado named Martin Erzinger. You can run over a cyclist, precede to leave the scene and when finally miles away across town you do stop to call for assistance. Instead of calling for an ambulance or law enforcement, you call Mercedes to arrange to get your car repaired. Because you are a wealthy stockbroker from Colorado named Martin Erzinger. The D.A. will allow you to plead guilty to two misdemeanor violations and drop a felony charge because “felony convictions have some pretty serious job implications for someone in Mr. Erzinger’s profession.”
I've heard of "Too big to fail." Martin Erzinger is a case of "Too important to Jail."
Land of the Free? For the most part, yes. It's just some are more free than others.