Imagine living in a country where prisons are private corporations that profit from keeping their beds stocked at, or near, capacity and the governing officials scramble to meet contractual “lockup quotas.” Imagine that taxpayers would have to pay for any empty beds should crime rates fall below that quota. Surprise! You already live there.

A new report from In the Public Interest (ITPI) revealed last week that private prison companies are striking deals with states that contain clauses guaranteeing high prison occupancy rates. The report, “Criminal: How Lockup Quotas and ‘Low-Crime Taxes’ Guarantee Profits for Private Prison Corporations,” documents the contracts exchanged between private prison companies and state and local governments that either guarantee prison occupancy rates (essentially creating inmate lockup quotas) or force taxpayers to pay for empty beds if the prison population decreases due to lower crime rates or other factors (essentially creating low-crime taxes).

Some of these contracts require 90 to 100 percent prison occupancy.

In a letter to 48 state governors in 2012, the largest for-profit private prison company in the US, Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), offered to buy up and operate public state prisons. In exchange, states would have to sign a 20-year contract guaranteeing a 90 percent occupancy rate throughout the term.

http://www.salon.com/2013/09/23/6_shocking_revelations_about_how_private_prisons_make_money_partner/

What’s the Problem?

We have to make are stock holders money, What would Lawyers do if we stop Incarcerating people when crime is way down for almost a decade, we had to figure out more ways to imprison more people, Geeeez!

VP Cheney Linked To Prison Abuse

http://news.sky.com/story/649722/vp-cheney-linked-to-prison-abuse

I'm still waiting.

The Senate Judiciary Committee will meet next Thursday on a mandatory minimum sentencing reform bill, which is what HRW is calling for to deal with problems it cited in its report.

The Obama administration has been decent--not good, but not horrible--on drug policy. Holder has spoken out for sentencing reform, and they are mainly laying off medical marijuana and the marijuana legalization states. Not completely, but...

And the US is no longer trying to bully other countries into not doing their own thing on drug reform. So there's that.

There was never an epidemic of judges handing out ultra light sentences so violent criminals were free to walk the streets in record time. It's the same logic behind most of the overcharging and shotgun charges: They're not trying to make sure a guilty person doesn't walk, they're trying to make sure no one has a chance to find out if he or she is guilty in the first place.

... that "they" decided to use it on all of us.

Just the economics of it would limit the government's powers with respect to police and prosecutors.

And that is life without parole for first degree murder, which is the case in Massachusetts, for example.

Or, that we are even better than God.

No need to look farther than that.

Of course it is also true that we are fond of felonizing all sorts of social disobedience, both for revenue and to keep the private prisons full so we don't have to compensate the owners for the deficit.

I do wonder when the anti-union people are going to take on the LEO unions like they do the teachers.