Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

jg10003

(974 posts)
Sat Mar 19, 2016, 11:01 PM Mar 2016

How committed is Clinton to ending private prisons?

In September 2015 Sanders introduced a bill ban government contracts for privately run prisons and jails within three years.

WASHINGTON — Senator and Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) introduced legislation on Thursday that promises to ban government contracts for privately run prisons and jails within three years.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bernie-sanders-private-prisons-bill_us_55fad97be4b0fde8b0cd3545


A month later Clinton announced that she would also ban private prisons and would no longer accept their campaign contributions. However private prison lobbyists had already contributed $133,000 to her campaign (Clinton said that money would be given to charity).


Lobbying firms that work for two major private prison giants, GEO Group and Corrections Corporation of America, gave $133,246 to the Ready for Hillary PAC, according to Vice. Those companies operate a number of criminal and immigrant detention facilities, some of which have been plagued by allegations of abuse and poor treatment of detainees.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/hillary-clinton-private-prisons_us_562a3e3ee4b0ec0a389418ec


Her current stance is admirable and she might act accordingly if elected. However it is not unreasonable to wonder how committed she is to this issue.
8 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
 

Onlooker

(5,636 posts)
5. Seems like they're both playing politics
Sat Mar 19, 2016, 11:28 PM
Mar 2016

Sanders introduced a bill after deciding to run for president. Hillary changed her point of view after Sanders went on the attack. Clearly, Sanders introduced the bill to embarrass Hillary, not because he was active in the matter of private prisons.

Meanwhile, private prisons hold less than 10% of prisoners, which further suggests it's just a political issue that actually distracts from the bigger issues with the way prisoners are treated and rehabilitated.

jg10003

(974 posts)
6. True - less than 10% of prisoners, but the profit motive corrupts the entire judicial system.
Sat Mar 19, 2016, 11:56 PM
Mar 2016

Private prison lobbyists influence sentencing guidelines, lobby against marijuana legalization, lobby against prison reform, and contribute to candidates who support their industry.

Latest Discussions»Retired Forums»2016 Postmortem»How committed is Clinton ...