Cash Cowed 0
At The Boston Review, Donna Murch takes a close look at our for profit prison system. She points out that it is not just the private prison firms that profit; it’s also almost every stakeholder in the criminal “justice” system. This is a snippet from the introduction. The entire article is worth your while.
In states and municipalities throughout the country, the criminal justice system defrays costs by forcing prisoners and their families to pay for punishment. It also allows private service providers to charge outrageous fees for everyday needs such as telephone calls. As a result people facing even minor criminal charges can easily find themselves trapped in a self-perpetuating cycle of debt, criminalization, and incarceration.
(snip)
In an era of fiscal austerity and crisis, mass incarceration has enabled private contractors, municipalities, counties, and states to make money off large numbers of America’s most vulnerable residents. The historical roots of these extractive practices stretch far back in the American past.
