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The following article is an excerpt from “The Center for Church and Prison.” For more information on this and other informative articles, go to their website: www.churchandprison.org
Greetings,
Where ever 3-Strikes sentences are legislated, private prisons will begin to appear. The biggest private prison in America: Corrections Corporation of America is offering cash and contract terms to 48 Governors to buy their prisons and privatize them under certain conditions. The conditions include a 20 year management contract plus an assurance that the prison would remain at least 90% full. The offer has come under the guise of taking care of budgetary constrains caused by high prison cost and maintenance.
The offer has caused outrage among religious and civic organizations, individuals, prison reform advocates and civil rights organizations all over the nation. The buying and selling of human beings under the guise of crime and punishment has taken a turn for the worst in the United States which has 5% of the world’s population but 25% of the world’s incarcerated population. With approximately 7.4 million individuals under some form of correctional supervision in the United States and 2.4 million behind bars with over 50% of them minority men and boys, Correction Corporation of America’s blatant action has caused some to declare the practice immoral and a humanitarian crisis undermining the very fabric of American democracy and Constitutional principles
The offer of Corrections Corporation of America to 48 Governors in the United States comes on the heels of mounting opposition to Three Strikes You-Are-Out- bills in the Massachusetts Conference Committee at the State House. Incentives for the appearance of private prison corporations in any states are longer, harsh and punitive sentences characteristic of the 3-Strikes sentencing laws evident in the Massachusetts 3-Strikes bills. Massachusetts has close to 24,000 inmates in both States and County jails. Hispanics are 9.7% of MA population but are 28% of those behind bars. Blacks are 6.6% of MA population but are 30% of those behind bars. Massachusetts spends $47,000 on one inmate annually but $10,000 annually on one k-12 children. The result is mass incarceration and high rates of recidivism which undermine community security and public safety in Massachusetts.
Private prisons feed on: Mandatory minimum sentencing laws, truth-in-sentencing laws, and three-strikes laws to make close to $3 billion annually at the expense of bondage and mystery as evident in the case of two of the largest private prison corporations: GEO and CCA at the end of fiscal year 2010. See: Why We Oppose 3-Strikes Bill in Massachusetts.
The Prison Aftercare Network can be reached through:
Oliver Johnson
414-750-0858