The profit being made off of the prisoners in this country is obscene. In the article written about juvenile detention centers where this picture was found (PHAWKER.COM) there is a list of different cases of abuse and neglect that have been verified through an investigation that took place. These range from intimidation and sexual harassment to neglect of basic medical needs that has even resulted in death. The private company that is running these juvenile detention facilities has a contract with the states in which it operates mandating that the beds be kept full. This has led to sentences that are drummed up or fabricated to meet these contract parameters.


The prison population in this country has doubled from 2000 to 2010 according to a Washington Post article about the extremely lucrative private prison have become. The private prison industry has seen its market shares soar in value and currently has a combined profit of around 3.3 billion dollars annually. The population in this country has not doubled between 2000 and 2010, but the prison population has. This has an incredible effect on our country as a whole. Every inmate leaves behind a family that needs them. This harms children, spouses and society. The destabilization that occurs as a result of this has ripple effects that are hard to put a dollar figure on but are profound nonetheless.


 If someone has committed a crime worth incarceration than I am not against this individual being forced to serve the appropriate sentence, However, when an individual receives excessive charges to fill the quota of a contract that a prison has with a state I do see this as a insult to justice.  A corrupt judge will be paid off and innocent people suffer as a result.


I have a friend who wrote bad checks and was caught and prosecuted. He ended up in work release in Elkhart County. There is a group of judges that own the work release program and a disproportional amount of individuals are sentenced to this facility as it is profitable for these judges. The subsequent destruction of his family was tragic and was difficult to see. This is the reason I started this blog to try to bring attention to this situation and through dialogue come up with solutions.