More bad people in jail = safer for the rest of us noncriminals.
Do you know what's truly amazing about this article, is the fact that a man sold ONE pill and ended up in prison! Who in Gods name, would sentence a person in obvious ill health for selling a single pill, when from that moment on taxpayers assume the financial responsibility for the person during incarceration?
I do not want to trivialize this mans death in any way, but what sense does it make to load up private prisons with people who do stupid things, when it is us, you and me and then our kids and grandkids, who will pay to feed, house and provide medical care to every one of them. . . For low offense crimes.
This inhumane practice only feeds the private prisons that have sprung up in all areas of the US. I do not want any of my tax dollars used in this fashion.
This issue is what all Americans should feel outraged about and not about how illegals steal our social service funds.
I do not want to trivialize this mans death in any way, but what sense does it make to load up private prisons with people who do stupid things, when it is us, you and me and then our kids and grandkids, who will pay to feed, house and provide medical care to every one of them. . . For low offense crimes.
This inhumane practice only feeds the private prisons that have sprung up in all areas of the US. I do not want any of my tax dollars used in this fashion.
This issue is what all Americans should feel outraged about and not about how illegals steal our social service funds.
39
An arresting article.One of "them" died. In prison. Adjudicated for the sale of one prescription pill.That's the law.Selling a public health danger-cigarette is not against the law.HE,who has a name and a mother, was incarcerated in a "for profit prison," in which law-breakers are commodities, not people.This specific prisoner had an evidence based disease.Cancer. Noted by a concerned doctor.No matter.Doctors don't treat commodities.And profitable prisons didn't treat a medical condition,which died with the drug trafficker.Lots of words remained alive:negligence,adequate plan of
treatment,being violated,known facts,indifference, risk.And judges,asked to hear,and listen,to numerous sides about...They judged,as people do with strengths and limitations. And points of view, needs and lots of etc. Just as They,and we,are and do.Daily. Judged not as a flawless,efficient, titrated, controlled, judging-processing-system.A grieving mom.Maybe she needs a pill?Supplied by a legal pharm-Co., not by her son, in our disease-mongering, commodifying culture Another court review.Soon.Not about the meanings of private prison stocks Trumped upwards.Not about facts, fictions,fantasies or ongoing failures this “case” represents.Not about pain.A mother lost her irreplaceable son.You, and me, and the rest of a complacent US, lost a menschlich way, allowing people to BE commodities.Paradox:if and when incarceratable-crimes decrease there will be less need for prisons;private or public,and less THEM.
treatment,being violated,known facts,indifference, risk.And judges,asked to hear,and listen,to numerous sides about...They judged,as people do with strengths and limitations. And points of view, needs and lots of etc. Just as They,and we,are and do.Daily. Judged not as a flawless,efficient, titrated, controlled, judging-processing-system.A grieving mom.Maybe she needs a pill?Supplied by a legal pharm-Co., not by her son, in our disease-mongering, commodifying culture Another court review.Soon.Not about the meanings of private prison stocks Trumped upwards.Not about facts, fictions,fantasies or ongoing failures this “case” represents.Not about pain.A mother lost her irreplaceable son.You, and me, and the rest of a complacent US, lost a menschlich way, allowing people to BE commodities.Paradox:if and when incarceratable-crimes decrease there will be less need for prisons;private or public,and less THEM.
2
Prvitazation of prisons is a glaring bad example free market run amok. If government sentences someone to jail then government oversight should be required.
23
The incredibly bad smell generated by the industrial prison complex and those who support it informs intelligent observers that our country is in serious arrears when it comes to justice.
13
I have followed and enjoyed the writing of Ms. Greenhouse for many years and my comment is simply to say thanks for being thoughtful and for bringing important issues to national attention.
12
The criminal justice system in this country is broken.
8
As Donald said in his speech to Congress, "The money is rolling in. Very nice."
Private profit, as well as personal profit, drives this administration, always a feature of your classic dictatorships/oligarchies.
Private profit, as well as personal profit, drives this administration, always a feature of your classic dictatorships/oligarchies.
10
Doctors are required to swear to the Hippocratic oath of "First; do no harm". Something of the sort should be required of judges.
8
An over site committee that can go unannounced into every priso and jail is needed immediately. What goes on in prisons ad jails stays in prisons/jails will continue until the public is made aware of the egregious treatment of incarcerated men and women.
4
I always look forward to the clarity of Ms. Greenhouse's essays.
9
A cancer survivor who couldn't swallow is sentenced to prison for selling one pill? Welcome to the 13th century.
35
Not only are private prisons an abomination, but so is a "criminal justice" system that sentences a man with serious medical problems to prison for selling one prescription pill.
25
We good Russian citizens must learn to accept the gulag.
9
Why was this very ill man in prison at all? What happened to his defense? Just putting him in prison alone was cruel.
His mother is right to fight for justice.
His mother is right to fight for justice.
13
One has to wonder how many angry, self-righteous voters would be rubbing their hands with glee at this story of a "criminal getting what he deserved." I taught in prisons for many years. I am no longer shocked at the viciousness with which people will express their enthusiasm for a punitive prison. We should not overlook the political value of private prisons as an appeal to a sadistic strain in our society.
20
I do not believe that a person in Nicholas Glisson's medical condition would be incarcerated by any other advanced country, certainly not here.
15
It is difficult for me to comprehend how an inmate could be allowed to starve to death in his cell, then to conclude that this "does not permit an inference of institutional deliberate indifference to a known risk" as Judge Sykes did in her dissent.
10
If you can't make money it ain't worth doing.
We are soooo lost.
End the war on drugs and stop incarceration for non-violent crime, profitable confiscation of a suspect's assets and what's to do with all that empty prison-space and all those idle law-enforcement officers?
Back into the labor market again?
We are soooo lost.
End the war on drugs and stop incarceration for non-violent crime, profitable confiscation of a suspect's assets and what's to do with all that empty prison-space and all those idle law-enforcement officers?
Back into the labor market again?
8
Idk what to do. Agree but we are normalizing him because he can read a TelePrompTer speech.
This whole mess has destroyed us.
This whole mess has destroyed us.
5
This US government, as administered, has become a grand scheme to auction captive consumers to rentiers, one way or another.
6
Private prisons. Another great business idea from Trump administration. Is it any wonder that the Sessions Justice Dept. will get tougher on crime where people, primarily of color, will be arrested, barely represented by some kid in a cheap suit, found guilty for the lowest of crimes then incarcerated. What a country! We can become a gulag for other countries to send us their criminals to fill up the "rooms" in the prison hotels or If we can accelerate construction there will be no need for a wall with Mexico just put all those "bad dudes" in lock up then make the Mexican government pay for the lack of care and feeding of the inmates. Wonder if a certain guys name will have to be put on all those new lock ups?
2
Trump has made it clear that the Constitution is an historical document with no power today as it does not apply to him or his cronies. Cannot just blame him. The "great justice" Scalia used "original intent" that he made up. He ignored what the founders actually said when they debated the Constitution and Bill of Rights and substituted his own beliefs for theirs.
Time to face the facts. We are a nation controlled by a handful who have no regard for the public good, only their own short-term wealth. There are no signs that a majority of the electorate wants a change
Time to face the facts. We are a nation controlled by a handful who have no regard for the public good, only their own short-term wealth. There are no signs that a majority of the electorate wants a change
33
It's hard to imagine that Mr Glisson was charged and sentanced for such a minor
crime. One pill sold although unlawful doesn't justify the cost of trail, jail, etc.
The pharmaindustrial complex sells millions of these substances to patients who they know don't really need them. The doctors and pharma should be charged.
crime. One pill sold although unlawful doesn't justify the cost of trail, jail, etc.
The pharmaindustrial complex sells millions of these substances to patients who they know don't really need them. The doctors and pharma should be charged.
10
Privitazation rarely if ever saved money and clearly costs lives. can anyone point to instances where providing good public services were performed by private for profit entities? I doubt it.
6
Negligence is not restricted to private prisons.
The same thing happens in facilities run by the government.
At least, with corporate facilities, the recourse of the courts is available.
With government operated facilities, there is no recourse.
1
The trendy notion that everything should be "run like a business" is inane.
The ultimate reason for business is always the bottom line - profit.
For a family, a government, a school, a prison, etc. the goals are otherwise.
That businesses are somehow "better" or "more efficient" than public institutions is snake oil.
The ultimate reason for business is always the bottom line - profit.
For a family, a government, a school, a prison, etc. the goals are otherwise.
That businesses are somehow "better" or "more efficient" than public institutions is snake oil.
11
Sue these private prison corporations. Keep bringing them to court daily. Get as much as financially possible from Corizon and others. Keep filing civil suits. Money is the only thing they know. Expose the major shareholders, publicly shame them, if that is at all possible.
3
Since the primary motivation of a private prison firm is profit, it stands to reason that extensive litigation and numerous large awards penalizing maltreatment are the most effective correctives.
5
The ninth is so little used: The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.
Basic natural human rights are implicitly assumed and explicitly protect for the People from the government. It may not be the courts' role to enumerate them further, but they must at least recognize them.
Basic natural human rights are implicitly assumed and explicitly protect for the People from the government. It may not be the courts' role to enumerate them further, but they must at least recognize them.
4
It's hard to muster up too much sympathy or the gather much energy on behalf of these criminals. We continue to spend billions of dollars on people that are useless weights within our society.
Rehabilitating them, setting them free, locking them up, caring for them rehabilitating them, setting them free. It's a long, expensive and exhausting cycle.
besides a small percentage of New York Times readers, I don't believe many of us that work hard to educate ourselves and to perform at a high-level think much about this subject.
Rehabilitating them, setting them free, locking them up, caring for them rehabilitating them, setting them free. It's a long, expensive and exhausting cycle.
besides a small percentage of New York Times readers, I don't believe many of us that work hard to educate ourselves and to perform at a high-level think much about this subject.
1
To me, this is a case of homicide that neither state nor federal prosecutors want to recognize. The victim was utterly dependent on his "caretaker" and died in extremely cruel fashion.
The cruelty is inherent in the business model of providing low bids for medical care contracts for prisoner and then doing utmost to deliver none. Criminal negligence as a business model can develop only with the cooperation with the prosecutorial and judicial authorities which tend to be oblivious to prisoner rights.
The cruelty is inherent in the business model of providing low bids for medical care contracts for prisoner and then doing utmost to deliver none. Criminal negligence as a business model can develop only with the cooperation with the prosecutorial and judicial authorities which tend to be oblivious to prisoner rights.
5
This timely caution reminds us that judges, including Supreme Court justices, have become partisan lightning rods now nominated for ideological purity rather than sober impartiality and who, when confirmed, rule on major and seemingly mundane matters that affect all of us in our daily lives. That the politicization of the courts, always present to some degree, is now overt, omnipresent and apparently accepted as spoils of political warfare, illustrates our growing distance from our common constitutional construct. Change is needed but there is no clear correcting course forward and no strong advocacy for one.
6
As a retired person who worked in Ohio's prisons for 15 years, private prisons run by, e.g., CCA are nothing more than Republican's attempt to make a business out of anything.
Union employees in Ohio have fully demonstrated on paper more than once that they can run prions more cost effectively and legally than any of these private prisons corporations but it's all about politics and Republicans run Ohio.
With a con man for president who believes in making a buck anyway he can, it's only expected that private prisons are profitable for Republicans who have no shame or guilt about their business ethics.
Union employees in Ohio have fully demonstrated on paper more than once that they can run prions more cost effectively and legally than any of these private prisons corporations but it's all about politics and Republicans run Ohio.
With a con man for president who believes in making a buck anyway he can, it's only expected that private prisons are profitable for Republicans who have no shame or guilt about their business ethics.
49
Outsourcing to private entities, whose reason d'etre is profit (greed, and willful ignorance, in Corizon's case), suggests that Justice is being given short shrift by an empty governmental shell, or incompetence, allowing mercenaries to have it their way. This ought not be allowed. Yes, there is precedence; witness the 'military' outsourcing its needs and wishes to private contractors, irresponsible in their actions...until its too late for repair. Car companies have outsourced for eons, so not to pay benefits themselves for folks holding a regular job. But in the case of prisons, private entrepreneurs getting paid by each and every person put in jail, is a nasty and self-interested proposition that has nothing to do with justice. That crooked, lying and unscrupulous Trump is supporting it, is one more reason to seek the elimination of 'outsourcing'.
1
Linda, since Mr. Trump was business minded perhaps even before he was born, everything does as the president smells of a business dealing to me and many other citizens of this great country.
So this latest act of Mr. Trump to hand over the keys of almost all our prisons to C.C.A. and Corizon and many others in the prison building and maintaining industry, smells of cash flowing through the pipeline or the conduit laid between these industries and the current White House.
Otherwise why would anyone with a proper mental capacity will not know that these private prison industry will milk the system on the backs of the innocent Black and other minority prisoners whose only crimes might've been selling a small amount marijuana which is sold in many states like Colorado and others legally and openly.
And this case of a 50-year now deceased Black male Mr. Nicholas Glisson who starved to death in a an Indiana state prison on September 3,2010, tells a lot about how far our private prison industry will go to violate our Constitutional rights under our 8th Amendment to be free from cruel and unusual punishment.
The employees working under Corizon in Indiana State prison literally killed Mr. Gleason through 'deliberate indifference' through starvation,acute renal failure and associated conditions,as stated by you here in this article.
They also did nothing to allay his serious medical problems, including cancer of the larynx which made it difficult for him to swallow,as per you.
So this latest act of Mr. Trump to hand over the keys of almost all our prisons to C.C.A. and Corizon and many others in the prison building and maintaining industry, smells of cash flowing through the pipeline or the conduit laid between these industries and the current White House.
Otherwise why would anyone with a proper mental capacity will not know that these private prison industry will milk the system on the backs of the innocent Black and other minority prisoners whose only crimes might've been selling a small amount marijuana which is sold in many states like Colorado and others legally and openly.
And this case of a 50-year now deceased Black male Mr. Nicholas Glisson who starved to death in a an Indiana state prison on September 3,2010, tells a lot about how far our private prison industry will go to violate our Constitutional rights under our 8th Amendment to be free from cruel and unusual punishment.
The employees working under Corizon in Indiana State prison literally killed Mr. Gleason through 'deliberate indifference' through starvation,acute renal failure and associated conditions,as stated by you here in this article.
They also did nothing to allay his serious medical problems, including cancer of the larynx which made it difficult for him to swallow,as per you.
23
Nefarious, felonious FOR-PROFIT private prisons are adding to the mountain of disgraceful history that has plagued the United States, throughout its entire history. I can't imagine why any immigrant would want to live here. They should read up on us, before they make their decisions to move.
10
Putting people in prison should NOT be a for-profit business. This is a disgrace. Why would you put someone so sick in jail for selling ONE pill? Americans claim to be compassionate people, but cases like this prove that we are not.
51
Linda: You are the light in the darkness.... keep shining!
8
The privatizing of public services serves no public function. It is either higher cost, lower quality or both--on the absurd theory that the private sector operates less expensively and more effectively than does the public sector. Perhaps so in competitive markets, but not in sole-source markets, in which the profit motive and political influence to ensure profitability dominate. For such reasons, the only government interest in outsourcing public services--health insurance, public education, state prisons, etc.--is to create campaign-contributing industries which will support either party which makes it money.
62
I have been reading through the paper today and Linda's piece highlights for me a real problem we are facing. This a powerful piece. Serious, humane and important. Clearly we are living now with a president and an administration that is particularly vindictive, repressive and reactionary. A virulent ugliness has been released both in policy as well as in the very air we breathe. Abuse in private prisons seem rampant. But the other prisons, the one's run by the government, are also hell holes, filled with vengeance and cruelty. We live in a deeply dehumanized, vindictive and punitive society. How to to address the particular and extreme vileness of the present administration without minimizing or even mystifying the misery that flows from the alternatives offered is not as easy as it sounds.
11
Once again we set off on the fools errand of finding reason in anything this administration does. Sessions is yet another example.
For profit prisons? It even sounds ridiculous.The more prisoners the more profits, so lets provide them at all cost. Let's lock them all up.
There is a problem with for profit prisons. They are based on the model that less is more. The less that is spent,the more profits are to be had. That is the nature of the beast. It is fundamental,and inescapable.
The idea that prison operation and capitalism are a good mix is just dumb and wrong.
Prisons are bad places at best. Operation of them for profit is obscene. It's part of the fiction that for profit is good and government run is bad. That's questionable and idealogicaly unsound. More right wing hooey.
I'm spluttering again, but it seems so obvious that its hard to see how a reasonable person would believe it. And here we run into the new religion of Greed, espoused by Trump, Greeds prophet.
It may be profitable, but is it right. Does everything have to be run for a profit, form religion to health care? To prisons? Have we no decency at all? At long last, no decency?
For profit prisons? It even sounds ridiculous.The more prisoners the more profits, so lets provide them at all cost. Let's lock them all up.
There is a problem with for profit prisons. They are based on the model that less is more. The less that is spent,the more profits are to be had. That is the nature of the beast. It is fundamental,and inescapable.
The idea that prison operation and capitalism are a good mix is just dumb and wrong.
Prisons are bad places at best. Operation of them for profit is obscene. It's part of the fiction that for profit is good and government run is bad. That's questionable and idealogicaly unsound. More right wing hooey.
I'm spluttering again, but it seems so obvious that its hard to see how a reasonable person would believe it. And here we run into the new religion of Greed, espoused by Trump, Greeds prophet.
It may be profitable, but is it right. Does everything have to be run for a profit, form religion to health care? To prisons? Have we no decency at all? At long last, no decency?
7
"reminding us that judging is inevitably a mix of law and instinct" Linda Greenhouse
This statement leads into an even more important statement about the law in the United States. The law has played a game ever since the first law school was opened in the United States. That game is that it purports to be logical, and therefore a judge should be a caller of "balls and strikes." Put aside the minor point that that umpires make lots of mistakes.
Now consider that at our finest law schools we teach our future lawyers how to argue both sides of the very same case. In fact a lawyer many years ago did just that, making one argument in the morning to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and in another case the exact opposite in the afternoon. So to the extent the logic of the law supports umpiring, go tell that to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
Finally, although Gödel was a pure mathematician (incidentally he was Einstein's best friend and Harvard's choice for best mathematician of the 20th century), he proved beyond the shadow of a doubt that in any logical system complicated enough to support the arithmetic of the integers, there will always exist propositions within the system which can neither be proved nor disproved. So please, the next you hear a justice or a judge talking about logically interpreting the Constitution or calling balls and strikes then he/she is speaking nonsense. Judging always requires instinct, humanity and an understanding of the larger world.
This statement leads into an even more important statement about the law in the United States. The law has played a game ever since the first law school was opened in the United States. That game is that it purports to be logical, and therefore a judge should be a caller of "balls and strikes." Put aside the minor point that that umpires make lots of mistakes.
Now consider that at our finest law schools we teach our future lawyers how to argue both sides of the very same case. In fact a lawyer many years ago did just that, making one argument in the morning to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and in another case the exact opposite in the afternoon. So to the extent the logic of the law supports umpiring, go tell that to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
Finally, although Gödel was a pure mathematician (incidentally he was Einstein's best friend and Harvard's choice for best mathematician of the 20th century), he proved beyond the shadow of a doubt that in any logical system complicated enough to support the arithmetic of the integers, there will always exist propositions within the system which can neither be proved nor disproved. So please, the next you hear a justice or a judge talking about logically interpreting the Constitution or calling balls and strikes then he/she is speaking nonsense. Judging always requires instinct, humanity and an understanding of the larger world.
38
What is "sounds instincts"? If it relates to an ability to grasp injustice no matter what (besides, say, legal constraints), I think it is a bad desire. One does not hope for judicial discretion.
I disagree. The judiciary is charged with interpreting the Constitution and being a check on unconstitutional abuse of power. The ability to grasp injustice, no matter if perpetrated by private parties, the legislature, or the executive, is absolutely necessary to a system of checks and balances.
1
Presidents Obama and Trump and most American police departments participate in this travesty of justice by continuing to prosecute and jail marijuana users and sellers. Marijuana is less harmful than beer.
The biggest contributor to the anti-legalization side in two recent California votes on it was the prison guards union. They prevailed the first time, continuing to jail innocent people solely to get bigger budgets and fatter pay checks. Cowardly and greedy police departments supported them. In 2016 the vast majority of voters won and legalized marijuana.
Watch Comedy Party Platform on YouTube. Thanks. [email protected]
The biggest contributor to the anti-legalization side in two recent California votes on it was the prison guards union. They prevailed the first time, continuing to jail innocent people solely to get bigger budgets and fatter pay checks. Cowardly and greedy police departments supported them. In 2016 the vast majority of voters won and legalized marijuana.
Watch Comedy Party Platform on YouTube. Thanks. [email protected]
15
The most corrupt and the part of the economy that discriminates against women and minorities, is the private sector. The private sector is not about the public good, it is about what corners they can cut to get, what regulations they can skirt, to get bigger profits. This is also about having a dedicated work force, ot forced labor, who will work for pennies a day. Watching the documentary, "13th", by Ava DuVernay, is a must see for people.
12
The state has the awesome power to deprive persons of their liberty if they have been found by due process of law to have been in contravention of law. The idea that the penal system should be privatized is simply monstrous. If it is not clear that placing the profit motive into this equation will drastically effect the course of "justice", then we have become hopelessly, willfully blind.
21
Pence Country.
11
The story speaks for itself but this is really fine work. This is why subscribing to the Times is money well spent.
18
So much for the 8th Amendment. Just what we need a chain
of domestic Abu Ghraibs.
of domestic Abu Ghraibs.
20
Trial must proceed,, and culture and custom change, which should take care of that bubble, sad story.
1
When someone is imprisoned, no matter what sort of crime they have committed, they are no longer in a position to choose who will provide them with medical care. They cannot move about freely in society. They are, by being prisoners, subjected to another person's or company's whims and policies. If those policies focus more on the bottom line, as they must in for-profit prisons, there is a powerful incentive to ignore any illness or injury which will cost more than a nominal amount of money.
I've said it in other posts but it bears repeating here: America seems to care more about the rights of pets, zoo animals, and farm animals than it does about the rights of living breathing human beings, prisoners or not.
I've said it in other posts but it bears repeating here: America seems to care more about the rights of pets, zoo animals, and farm animals than it does about the rights of living breathing human beings, prisoners or not.
61
Don't fret. The rights of pets, zoo animals, and farm animals matter not to Trump or anyone who will serve proudly in his administration. Those protections you so resent will soon be gone, along with any semblance of caring about the fate of prisoners. "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated" said Gandhi. The US is devolving at warp speed. "Greatness" certainly does not lie at the end of this long dark road.
3
Substitute the word patient for prisoner, and illness for crime, and you have the same problems with for-profit health care. Our incomes are served by profit, but not our most basic human rights.
34
The intersection of the rule of law and human compassion is often foggy and a frequent scene of accidents. Our Constitution is designed to guide us through that dangerous intersection.
When a private company takes over the operation of a traditionally public facility or function, the company cannot take shortcuts to enhance profits. The more life-and-death situations involved in the formerly public job or facility, the more scrutiny is needed of the private company.
In the case of private prisons, the Constitutional rights of each prisoner enter the door with that prisoner and remain during the entire incarceration.
Conservative judges, almost invariably, look for ways to apply the letter of the law to diminish the Constitutional rights of individuals. Conservatives accord greater rights to the government versus private citizens and lesser rights against corporations.
Liberal judges see the Constitution as a living document, constantly informed by our experiences in an evolving world. Conservatives see the Constitution narrowly, controlled literally by the experience of an America which existed almost 250 years ago.
The primary reason conservative judges oppose the liberal concept of a living Constitution is the fact that 250 years ago, the rich and powerful faced far fewer demands by the poor and vulnerable. The treatment of prisoners then was as good as the prison authorities wanted them to be, and the prisoners had no voice.
Judge Diane Sykes should be ashamed.
When a private company takes over the operation of a traditionally public facility or function, the company cannot take shortcuts to enhance profits. The more life-and-death situations involved in the formerly public job or facility, the more scrutiny is needed of the private company.
In the case of private prisons, the Constitutional rights of each prisoner enter the door with that prisoner and remain during the entire incarceration.
Conservative judges, almost invariably, look for ways to apply the letter of the law to diminish the Constitutional rights of individuals. Conservatives accord greater rights to the government versus private citizens and lesser rights against corporations.
Liberal judges see the Constitution as a living document, constantly informed by our experiences in an evolving world. Conservatives see the Constitution narrowly, controlled literally by the experience of an America which existed almost 250 years ago.
The primary reason conservative judges oppose the liberal concept of a living Constitution is the fact that 250 years ago, the rich and powerful faced far fewer demands by the poor and vulnerable. The treatment of prisoners then was as good as the prison authorities wanted them to be, and the prisoners had no voice.
Judge Diane Sykes should be ashamed.
8
Lost among the trees is the forest. How is it that so many jurisdictions turned to the privitization of a basic function of government? Two considerations. Poorly designed State and Local tax policies, which inevitably raise too little revenue with policies directed at the wrong sources, and, uniformed public service unions. Before someone's undereducated head explodes, know that the liberal lion FDR strongly opposed collective bargaining for public employees. The cost of collectively bargained salary scales, pension and health benefits, not to mention the ceding of any decisive role in disciplinary actions for uniformed correctional employees, has become untenable. This is especially true in jurisdictions growing poorer through the hollowing out of their middle classes, and those more dependent on personal income tax receipts than other sources of governmental revenue. Eschew the AMA method of treating symptoms rather than causes if real solutions are the intent rather than another rallying cry for simpletons.
2
The single purpose of For Profit Prisons is to make a profit for their owners.
Everything else is secondary, and every dollar spent means a lower profit.
The owners are not concerned with rules, regulations or the Constitution.
Following them lowers profit.
The employees hired are those who will work for the smallest wages. This means they are the least educated and the least experienced workers available.
To help maximize profit, Jeff Sessions is working towards guaranteeing a steady stream of inmates, and will soon offer contracts for housing detainees.
Whether or not their incarcerations will be legal is not a concern, the Federal dollars per inmate is.
This is why privatization never works, is never good for the American public.
GOP - Greed Over People. Our nation's new guiding principle.
Sad. And Shameful.
Everything else is secondary, and every dollar spent means a lower profit.
The owners are not concerned with rules, regulations or the Constitution.
Following them lowers profit.
The employees hired are those who will work for the smallest wages. This means they are the least educated and the least experienced workers available.
To help maximize profit, Jeff Sessions is working towards guaranteeing a steady stream of inmates, and will soon offer contracts for housing detainees.
Whether or not their incarcerations will be legal is not a concern, the Federal dollars per inmate is.
This is why privatization never works, is never good for the American public.
GOP - Greed Over People. Our nation's new guiding principle.
Sad. And Shameful.
21
If you look at systemic problems individually, as one-off aberrations, the Courts can excuse anything. It could be deaths in poorly run private prison services, or it could be systematic failure by the prosecution to provide mitigating evidence to the defense, leaving innocent people in prison or on death row.
Justice is a tricky concept, finding what is fair hidden in what is legal.
We are currently living with the myth of of the supreme efficiency of the market, with the myth that private businesses are efficient, effective, less costly and more productive than anything the government can provide. Hasn't anyone worked for a corporation before? I have, and yes, they can compete with a government agency for sheer stupidity any day. Who else would invest millions rearranging the furniture to become more agile?
I can only hope that our judges will be careful in protecting individuals from the profit motive. But given the state of affairs in our almost religious belief in the power of market competition, I am not holding my breath.
Justice is a tricky concept, finding what is fair hidden in what is legal.
We are currently living with the myth of of the supreme efficiency of the market, with the myth that private businesses are efficient, effective, less costly and more productive than anything the government can provide. Hasn't anyone worked for a corporation before? I have, and yes, they can compete with a government agency for sheer stupidity any day. Who else would invest millions rearranging the furniture to become more agile?
I can only hope that our judges will be careful in protecting individuals from the profit motive. But given the state of affairs in our almost religious belief in the power of market competition, I am not holding my breath.
19
Whether we should have private prisons is usually argued as a matter of principle concerning whether it is appropriate to contact out public services. In fact, that has little to do with the matter of their performance. Contracts with private prisons include performance standards. In order to get fully paid, they have to do all the things prisons should do. The problem is that the government seldom follows up and evaluates performance and seldom penalizes the private prison contractor. The biggest problem with private prisons is that the public sector does not do the required oversight.
4
Michjas, exactly that situation occurred in my home county of Nassau, NY. The private contractor tasked with providing "health care" for the county jail failed to meet performance requirements for years. And the County Executive renewed the contract despite those failures. The problem unstated in your comment is that campaign contributions can turn the heads of the politicians responsible for oversight and withholding payment, when appropriate. Further, Armorcare, of TN, the provider, threatened to immediately abandon its contractual responsibilities should the county withhold full payment. Shockingly, with Amorcare's threat, the county found itself unable to find a replacement outside contractor willing to take up the job. Who could have seen that one coming?
The other pervasive danger is graft. The Nassau County Executive is currently under indictment, along with the recently resigned Presiding Supervisor of one of Nassau's three Towns.
There are many reasons to avoid outsourcing public functions. The most convincing is that the promised savings almost never occur.
The other pervasive danger is graft. The Nassau County Executive is currently under indictment, along with the recently resigned Presiding Supervisor of one of Nassau's three Towns.
There are many reasons to avoid outsourcing public functions. The most convincing is that the promised savings almost never occur.
3
Maybe no oversight is inevitable. The prison companies become campaign donors. Oversight requires money to employ overseers and inspectors, and willingness to jeopardize those contributions.
It seems to me the case for private prisons is bogus. The evidence that they're cheaper is nil. The opportunity for corruption and neglect is not. If we're going to keep private prisons, let's make them illegal, and put the legislators who created them in them.
It seems to me the case for private prisons is bogus. The evidence that they're cheaper is nil. The opportunity for corruption and neglect is not. If we're going to keep private prisons, let's make them illegal, and put the legislators who created them in them.
1
The problem with private prisons is the same as the problem with private armies. Are they more loyal to the profit or the purpose?
2
Yes, deliberate indifference can be shown in an individual case, and the majority was right to allow such a claim. But it's also true that jailers and other enforcement officers, whether quasi-private agents or public employees, should not be held liable on a tort standard, because they are put in awkward positions in which some harms can inadvertently be done in the normal course of an inherently coercive public task. We'd be better off reducing the instances in which coercive force needs to be applied. Not to gloss over the apparently deliberate indifference in the medical care here, Glisson's initial incarceration for a modest drug offense was the threshold problem.
12
The fact that Ms. Greenhouse had the unmitigated gall to mention Neil Gorsuch in this op-ed shows her incontrovertible bias against anything Donald Trump. So lamely associating Neil Gorsuch with this article, is a great disservice to a fine man that was previously unanimously confirmed for appointment to the Federal bench in a bipartisan vote. He is a proven, strict constitutionalist. Not only is this mention shameful, but it completely discredits her as a journalist.
Mr. Glisson’s story is tragic and we need better oversight of all prisons, the author paints all private prisons with a very broad brush stroke without offering any evidence that this is a pervasive problem and that it can only happen in private sector prisons. Suggesting that the government can do anything better than the private sector, except perhaps for military endeavors, is a big stretch considering how the government-run V.A. has failed to treat our veterans. Obama released many prisoners early, some of which may have been deserving, others of which will surely commit crimes again because of a prison shortage. Why, in the face of a shortage close private sector prisons that kill jobs instead of calling for stricter oversight? Also, the treatment of criminals in the federal country club type prisons is outrageous. Aren’t criminals supposed to be punished, not treated like VIP’s?
Finally, Sally Yates is too political to be impartial. Any employee that undermines their boss should be fired.
Mr. Glisson’s story is tragic and we need better oversight of all prisons, the author paints all private prisons with a very broad brush stroke without offering any evidence that this is a pervasive problem and that it can only happen in private sector prisons. Suggesting that the government can do anything better than the private sector, except perhaps for military endeavors, is a big stretch considering how the government-run V.A. has failed to treat our veterans. Obama released many prisoners early, some of which may have been deserving, others of which will surely commit crimes again because of a prison shortage. Why, in the face of a shortage close private sector prisons that kill jobs instead of calling for stricter oversight? Also, the treatment of criminals in the federal country club type prisons is outrageous. Aren’t criminals supposed to be punished, not treated like VIP’s?
Finally, Sally Yates is too political to be impartial. Any employee that undermines their boss should be fired.
5
Kill jobs? That's funny. It turns out paying someone to guard someone else is unproductive. Setting that aside, if government-run prisons were less efficient, wouldn't they employ more people, by definition?
The government does many things better than the private sector: the post office, Medicare, and higher education come to mind.
Are private prisons more likely to neglect prisoners? By theory and practice, yes. Certainly they have that incentive, because care is cost. And we have evidence: the bar to suits like the one in Indiana is high and, like the one in California, names a private prison firm.
Too many Americans seem to think prisoners have essentially no rights. I take the opposite view, that they retain all rights except freedom of movement. Not only are they obviously entitled to medical care, they should also for example be able to vote. Just because you're imprisoned (whether or not guilty), you're still a citizen.
A society is judged by how it treats its weakest. Instead of griping abount amenities in federal prisons, spend a little time learning about the perennial travesty known as Rikers Island. Then tell me we're too good to our prisoners.
The government does many things better than the private sector: the post office, Medicare, and higher education come to mind.
Are private prisons more likely to neglect prisoners? By theory and practice, yes. Certainly they have that incentive, because care is cost. And we have evidence: the bar to suits like the one in Indiana is high and, like the one in California, names a private prison firm.
Too many Americans seem to think prisoners have essentially no rights. I take the opposite view, that they retain all rights except freedom of movement. Not only are they obviously entitled to medical care, they should also for example be able to vote. Just because you're imprisoned (whether or not guilty), you're still a citizen.
A society is judged by how it treats its weakest. Instead of griping abount amenities in federal prisons, spend a little time learning about the perennial travesty known as Rikers Island. Then tell me we're too good to our prisoners.
49
That Veritas128 has the unmitigated gall to deduce Ms. Greenhouse is incontrovertibly biased against anything Donald Trump and bringing up the VA failures in treating veterans
only displays a total ignorance of a very basic fact - private enterprise has a strong incentive to willfully cut corners. Profit. There is no question that incompetence can exist everywhere - but add the Profit Motive (at taxpayer expense!) - that is why private enterprise performing government work needs added supervision and is legitimately subject to an added level of scrutiny.
only displays a total ignorance of a very basic fact - private enterprise has a strong incentive to willfully cut corners. Profit. There is no question that incompetence can exist everywhere - but add the Profit Motive (at taxpayer expense!) - that is why private enterprise performing government work needs added supervision and is legitimately subject to an added level of scrutiny.
1
The United States leads the world in prisoners per capita by far, more than Russia or China. Either we have more bad hombres in our midst than other nations, or we create them to fill the coffers of the private prison complex.
2
This raises a larger issue.
If every prison inmate is entitled to the full array of medical care necessary to preserve that individual's life and health, and if we are outraged when a for-profit prison values money over people and neglects that prisoner, and if we then cry out that that prisoner is a human being and should be treated as such, what does it say about us that we so blandly accept the nationwide insurance-fueled health care status quo that, the ACA notwithstanding, has shown depraved indifference toward millions of our fellow citizens while pocketing billions of dollars?
All of this could only exist in a country in which voters really avoid thinking about the consequences of their preferences and legislators must raise eye-popping sums of money each day to run for reelection. Combine these factors with the Citizens United obscenity that allows any rich citizen or corporation to finance propaganda in a congressional district far from home ...
Single-payer health care for all, including prisoners.
If every prison inmate is entitled to the full array of medical care necessary to preserve that individual's life and health, and if we are outraged when a for-profit prison values money over people and neglects that prisoner, and if we then cry out that that prisoner is a human being and should be treated as such, what does it say about us that we so blandly accept the nationwide insurance-fueled health care status quo that, the ACA notwithstanding, has shown depraved indifference toward millions of our fellow citizens while pocketing billions of dollars?
All of this could only exist in a country in which voters really avoid thinking about the consequences of their preferences and legislators must raise eye-popping sums of money each day to run for reelection. Combine these factors with the Citizens United obscenity that allows any rich citizen or corporation to finance propaganda in a congressional district far from home ...
Single-payer health care for all, including prisoners.
71
Private sources which are always driven by the bottom line are usually not the best agents for jobs that require giving more time, effort and inclusion than is profitable. This is true in: education, mail delivery, criminal justice, scientific research, and providing medical access. Advocates for privatizing offer little proof of success. They may be living in the world of "it ought to be", but more often are seekers of new ways to make money
20
When I see privatization being considered or imposed I always look for the profit trail to see where that trail leads. Next is to follow the loss trail to see who is being effected by the gained profits. Profits very seldom come from effciencies but from reduced wage base or reduced application such as the for profit Medicaid system that have been setup in many states.
2
"But if we have learned anything in the weeks since Jan. 20, it’s how dependent we are on our judges’ willingness to call out injustice where they find it — under the glare of lights at international airports or in a prison cell’s dark shadows."
Neglect is as bad as overt action, omission as bad (or worse) than commission. The term "for-profit prison" is almost as bad as "for profit" politicians. This may sound sarcastic, but my point is that the profit motive is so strong it leads to corner-cutting.
We rail against for-profit health insurance plans as delivering poor quality care that fattens the bottom line. And yet, nobody cares about private prison management firms, because few care about prisoners at all.
The only thing that might grab the public's attention is rising costs from lawsuits of prisoner families who don't like it when their family members die because of rank indifference.
Outsourcing constitutional rights has a nasty ring to it--but isn't that that what's happening? What's next, for-profit police and fire departments?
Neglect is as bad as overt action, omission as bad (or worse) than commission. The term "for-profit prison" is almost as bad as "for profit" politicians. This may sound sarcastic, but my point is that the profit motive is so strong it leads to corner-cutting.
We rail against for-profit health insurance plans as delivering poor quality care that fattens the bottom line. And yet, nobody cares about private prison management firms, because few care about prisoners at all.
The only thing that might grab the public's attention is rising costs from lawsuits of prisoner families who don't like it when their family members die because of rank indifference.
Outsourcing constitutional rights has a nasty ring to it--but isn't that that what's happening? What's next, for-profit police and fire departments?
37
We once had both private police and fire. Look to the private army of police the mine owners once had and fire departments are still referred to as companies in many places. With a growing following of "I don`t use it why should I pay for it" we will see a resurgence of the call for private police and fire departments.
As a termite inside the Southern Districts wood paneling, the final words: "that judging is inevitably a mix of law and instinct, and that we need judges with sound instincts more than ever" has heavy weight. If 20% of the judges, mostly those who were not "regurgitated prosecutors" - as Reagan labeled them - possess sound morals and des-inclination-to-power make the bench, this land would be fairer. But, it ain't so. This worm can attest. Most are blind enablers and compliant contortionists dressed in black robes.
19
As a Non-American I am again and again stunned by the strangeness of the US judicial system. Why should it be difficult to get this case before a court? The inmate was in the care of the prison system and died due to carelessness. For the damages it should not matter wether this was an actual decision by the system or just the negligence of one or several employee(s) which were not detected and preventet by the system.
Thus the prison firm without any doubt should be held responsible BUT what compensation could the family expect? Certainly not much with a patient suffering from advanced cancer of the larynx, as life expectancy has to be considered minimal already.
Thus the prison firm without any doubt should be held responsible BUT what compensation could the family expect? Certainly not much with a patient suffering from advanced cancer of the larynx, as life expectancy has to be considered minimal already.
20
Privatizing the public domain?
Incarceration should not become a money making enterprise. Private prison companies depend on creating large prison populations to promote and maintain corporate profits.
Most scholarly studies point to the fact that correctional policies end up being based upon financial reasons to incarcerate-- rather than on evidenced based practices regarding controlling crime, sentencing individuals, and their appropriate length of time for punishment.
Private prisons for corporate profit have many lawsuits stemming from mismanagement for negligence, abuse, violence, wrongful death, poor service delivery, inadequate staff training---and other major issues.
Incidentally, as these matters reoccur, it is taxpayers who bear the enormous burden of the cost of damages and legal fees, either directly or through increased costs.
A vicious and inevitable cycle, as private prisons lower costs for themselves by paying lower wages and benefits, while failing to provide adequate staff training. We have amply studied this in Pennsylvania.
Incarceration should not become a money making enterprise. Private prison companies depend on creating large prison populations to promote and maintain corporate profits.
Most scholarly studies point to the fact that correctional policies end up being based upon financial reasons to incarcerate-- rather than on evidenced based practices regarding controlling crime, sentencing individuals, and their appropriate length of time for punishment.
Private prisons for corporate profit have many lawsuits stemming from mismanagement for negligence, abuse, violence, wrongful death, poor service delivery, inadequate staff training---and other major issues.
Incidentally, as these matters reoccur, it is taxpayers who bear the enormous burden of the cost of damages and legal fees, either directly or through increased costs.
A vicious and inevitable cycle, as private prisons lower costs for themselves by paying lower wages and benefits, while failing to provide adequate staff training. We have amply studied this in Pennsylvania.
168
I would to this comment about privatizing the public domain. In addition to prisons, public education should also not be privatized for the same basic reasons. It is the common good, i.e., the public good, that is being affected. An additional factor is that money spent on education, particularly at the lower grades tends to reduce the need to spend even more money on the prison system later on. A well educated person rarely goes to prison.
If I can venture even further, I would also add health care to this list. I can see no earthly reason why our country refuses to see that health care is a basic human right. Our privatized system does not benefit the common good. It lines corporate and individual pockets while those same people who suffer from poor schools also suffer from lack of adequate medical care as well because they can't afford to pay for either private education or private health care. They are the ones who will inevitably be funneled into those private prisons that will continue the pattern of deprivation of basic care and rights. Those who can afford to pay generally can sidestep all three. We as a country are better than this, aren't we?
Joanne, thank you for your original comment. Please forgive me for going off on a related tangent.
If I can venture even further, I would also add health care to this list. I can see no earthly reason why our country refuses to see that health care is a basic human right. Our privatized system does not benefit the common good. It lines corporate and individual pockets while those same people who suffer from poor schools also suffer from lack of adequate medical care as well because they can't afford to pay for either private education or private health care. They are the ones who will inevitably be funneled into those private prisons that will continue the pattern of deprivation of basic care and rights. Those who can afford to pay generally can sidestep all three. We as a country are better than this, aren't we?
Joanne, thank you for your original comment. Please forgive me for going off on a related tangent.
10
Keep going off William, your thinking is sound and should be on the font page.
An election in which a foreign power tilted the result toward one candidate and an election that ended in a nonviolent coup d'état engineered by the head of the FBI. What Ms. Greenhouse is telling us without actually saying it is, say your goodbyes to a United States of America where the government's interest is the welfare of its citizens. That United States, which had been hanging on by a thread, is gone for good.
30
A legal analysis of a matter requires reference to precedent. And precedent, to be useful, must be on point. If a study stays that private prisons don't clean their bathrooms that is irrelevant to a guard killing an inmate. And so with Ms. Greenhouse's analysis. She is arguing that private prisons nave a policy of offering woefully substandard medical care. Her only precedent is a Justice Department study that such prisons are less safe and secure. In context, safety and security at prisons relates to prison violence and prison escapes., which says nothing about prison doctors. Any lawyer would recognize that her precedent carries virtually no weight.
6
What you say may be true. However, there is something seriously wrong with our laws if a state, or an entity contracted to provide services in place of said state, cannot be held accountable for causing the death of an inmate entrusted to it's care when it, for whatever reason, withheld any care at all!!!!!!!! This isn't rocket science. The man couldn't have sought care on his own. He no doubt attempted to request the care he needed. The state had complete control over him. The state had knowledge of the medical needs of this person, which when withheld, could cause his death.
The law is supposed to involve logic. This is anything BUT logical.
The law is supposed to involve logic. This is anything BUT logical.
I must object to any further perpetuation of the falsity that "...judging is inevitably a mix of law and instinct..."
That would imply that our judges are beyond human, that they work and function in some realm where bias does not exist. My own references for studies about human bias now contain papers on more than thirty forms of human bias. Favorable odds might be found for even more forms of bias as our research and self-revelations of honesty progress.
If judges are given the cultural authority to look upon attorneys, clients, or accused with some stern and critical eye, then their eye best be none so gentle that it avoids their own motivation and behavior.
In fact, what screams of injustice in this article even more than that the gentle criticism of "instinct" affects our judicial results, is that a violation of our constitutional rights is insufficient for a "challenge."
That some history and conscious intent to deny rights must be shown before a person may proceed with a legal challenge, even though their constitutional rights have been violated.
I must have presumed I was living on another planet, or at least in some other phantasmical country, where stare decisis was actually concerned with justice, rather than simply the law, and the law as the ultimate equivalent of justice. How silly of me.
That would imply that our judges are beyond human, that they work and function in some realm where bias does not exist. My own references for studies about human bias now contain papers on more than thirty forms of human bias. Favorable odds might be found for even more forms of bias as our research and self-revelations of honesty progress.
If judges are given the cultural authority to look upon attorneys, clients, or accused with some stern and critical eye, then their eye best be none so gentle that it avoids their own motivation and behavior.
In fact, what screams of injustice in this article even more than that the gentle criticism of "instinct" affects our judicial results, is that a violation of our constitutional rights is insufficient for a "challenge."
That some history and conscious intent to deny rights must be shown before a person may proceed with a legal challenge, even though their constitutional rights have been violated.
I must have presumed I was living on another planet, or at least in some other phantasmical country, where stare decisis was actually concerned with justice, rather than simply the law, and the law as the ultimate equivalent of justice. How silly of me.
50
I do not understand why, "Compared with the famous cases that will be invoked during the confirmation hearing, the Indiana prison case is small-bore, mundane." Now, a man with tragic disability inflicted by an ugly cancer STARVED TO DEATH in U.S. prison. "Mundane"? No. Gruesome. Inhumane. The very worst example of the thickly calloused heart of the United States of America.
The only difference between this case and "the famous cases that will be invoked" is that this case isn't in the text books--yet. The more Section 1983 Civil Rights claims such as this one are recognized and affirmed, the more relieved we can all feel--ALL of us, every one of us, of every size, shape and color--that the fox guarding the henhouse is in fact on a VERY SHORT LEASH.
The only difference between this case and "the famous cases that will be invoked" is that this case isn't in the text books--yet. The more Section 1983 Civil Rights claims such as this one are recognized and affirmed, the more relieved we can all feel--ALL of us, every one of us, of every size, shape and color--that the fox guarding the henhouse is in fact on a VERY SHORT LEASH.
32
Congratulations, America! We now have our own compelling version of "the banality of evil."
1
Whatever the government service, if a portion of that now goes for corporate overhead--personnel, marketing, corporate executive salaries and bonuses, etc--there is less money available to perform the necessary service. Economies of scale, having a much larger government perform, both the overhead and the vital service, less money is then available for, in this case, prisons.
But, given how corporations like to make campaign contributions to their favorite politicians , that encourages--a la Donald's Pay-to-Play agenda--the incarceration o0f even more prisoners--and even more profits for the For-Profit Prisons.
https://thetruthoncommonsense.com
But, given how corporations like to make campaign contributions to their favorite politicians , that encourages--a la Donald's Pay-to-Play agenda--the incarceration o0f even more prisoners--and even more profits for the For-Profit Prisons.
https://thetruthoncommonsense.com
8
I'm not sure what to take away from this article. Is it a claim that an inmate is more likely to suffer abuse and neglect in a private prison than in a public one? If that is the case then that needs to be brought out. But a few instances, outrageous as they are, do not make that case, unless I am to believe that similar abuses could not be found in public prisons, which I find hard to believe. The real problem is that we are sending far too many people to prison of either kind.
5
Bob K, agree we have way too many people in prison. There are horrible conditions in the public prisons. (I have known people who served time and drastic reform is needed.) But conditions are worse, from reports I have seen, in the private prisons and there is less accountability. Democracy Now w/Any Goodman has covered this including interviews with the reporter who went undercover as a guard in one of the private prisons and reported on the horrific conditions and torture that he found there. There are also broadcast phone calls from prisoners in some of these prisons, graphically stating what they have been through as well as other inmates they knew who had died because of the conditions. You can find it online if you are interested.
18
I live in Pennsylvania, where there was a scandal in which the private companies were paying kickbacks to judges for sending defendants to their prisons, where of course the state paid per head. I don't see how that level of corruption is even possible in a government system. Private systems can be run without oversight on any level. Government systems may also lack adequate oversight, but citizen complaints at least have a clear shot at improving things.
The truly insidious factor is the apparent connection between the private prison corporations, millions of dollars in campaign contributions to Republican candidates at the state and national level, and Republican legislative support for maximum minimum sentences. The bottom line is that maximum minimum sentences have been great for private prison corporations. They have given millions to Republican candidates and Republican legislators in 36 states in turn, have help pass maximum minimum sentencing laws. The apparent collusion is absolutely reprehensible.In 1972 there were 160 Americans incarcerated for every 100,000 people, currently there are 670. Obviously the increase in inmate population, partly as a result of longer max min sentences, has been very profitable for prison corporations.
135
Demonizing the poor is a tactic used by the right to make profits at the expense of all tax payers. This demonization blinds the taxpayer to the fact that the incarceration reduces employment eligibility of the incarcerated who could be working and paying taxes instead of being in jail for minor offenses. What is also offensive is undercover cops entrapping the vulnerable in order to enhance their careers.
@Don Shipp,
"Obviously the increase in inmate population, partly as a result of longer max min sentences, has been very profitable for prison corporations." Yes, and from what I have read about the private prison contracts here in AZ, they are guaranteed a certain number of prisoners a day, or the state is then in breach of the agreement and we have to pay, in essence, a fine. There should be no profit in prisons.
"Obviously the increase in inmate population, partly as a result of longer max min sentences, has been very profitable for prison corporations." Yes, and from what I have read about the private prison contracts here in AZ, they are guaranteed a certain number of prisoners a day, or the state is then in breach of the agreement and we have to pay, in essence, a fine. There should be no profit in prisons.
1
Dear Ms. Greenhouse,
I usually, and almost wholly, disagree with your columns.
However, in this case, I wholly agree with you.
I don't understand how "Private Prisons" have not been ruled un-Constitutional.
As usual, your writing is clear, concise and informative.
Thank you for this essay.
I usually, and almost wholly, disagree with your columns.
However, in this case, I wholly agree with you.
I don't understand how "Private Prisons" have not been ruled un-Constitutional.
As usual, your writing is clear, concise and informative.
Thank you for this essay.
12
Aside from Corizon's failure to implement policy, what about the company's employees in the prison? Didn't they see a seriously ill person, one who was emaciated and unable to eat? Where was their humanity? Where was their moral courage? Does Corizon hire only people who meekly follow orders and deny the reality in front of themselves, deny the the humanity of the people in their charge?
It's tempting to blame everything wrong on banksters, the radical right, big corporations, Russia,, or 45 and his administration. But there are millions of ordinary people making choices every day about how to be in the world and how to treat others. Each of us has the opportunity - and the responsibility - to do good.
It's tempting to blame everything wrong on banksters, the radical right, big corporations, Russia,, or 45 and his administration. But there are millions of ordinary people making choices every day about how to be in the world and how to treat others. Each of us has the opportunity - and the responsibility - to do good.
149
Well it was in Indiana where policies put into effect by Pence are probably still on the books, enuf said???
Also privatizing "anything" is never good for anyone except the owners, not the average person.
Very very tragic end to a man's life.
Also privatizing "anything" is never good for anyone except the owners, not the average person.
Very very tragic end to a man's life.
3
There are certain things that should not be profited from and putting people in prison is one of those things. Government, not for profit companies should be responsible for ensuring that once someone is sentenced for a crime their constitutional rights are still protected. We house 22% of the worlds prison population, some example of democracy.
156
Mass population produces mass imprisonment. There is no empathy in a mass society for the other. We are all over the world living in rotting societies, just by mass accumulation. Just think of Rome in the final years.
The even worse message is that the population on this planet keeps growing and growing, rather unstoppable. No good news. Sorry.
The even worse message is that the population on this planet keeps growing and growing, rather unstoppable. No good news. Sorry.
5
Why was someone in this condition incarcerated for a nonviolent act -- delivering a single pill to another person without a prescription -- in the first place?
Who condemns a gravely disabled person with cancer to prison for selling a pain pill?
And who benefits from this?
Who condemns a gravely disabled person with cancer to prison for selling a pain pill?
And who benefits from this?
28
Let's send the prison officials to Russia. As inmates.
9
Quite apart from whether private prisons are a good thing, it's worth asking why Trump did this. Although it may appear unkind, there is no reason to think it was done to improve the way prisoners are handled, nor even that Trump considered that issue. The reason simply is that Trump is helping the private sector to milk the public cow.
21
Wow! That's got to be the most lucid explanation of section 1983 I've ever read. And the rest of the piece is pure poetry. Thank you, Linda Greenhouse, for shining the bright light of truth and compassion into the dark, dank spaces of our criminal justice system!
17
Thanks Linda I have followed you for years and you have such great judgement.
2
Good article. My contact with folks serving time has decreased dramatically from when I was young, so I don't currently know anyone incarcerated, save two former co-workers, one for murder one, the other for an attempt to contract for two men to be killed. They are where they belong.
Another huge problem is the employment of people as guards that are too uneducated, plain stupid or a little to psychopathic to be police.
That's really saying something.
That's really saying something.
15
Stories like this makes me think we have a vengeance system rather than a justice system. This poor soul should have been either in a hospital or hospice, not prison.
24
Why bother with Constitutions?
-- When decisions and livelihoods boil down to a matter of selecting the lowest bidder who makes the greatest number of promises to do great things.
Let's see, a State selects the private company who makes the best promises. ["Art of the Deal"] Then that company tries to find people who can actually meet the commitments while pursuing the marginally qualified/motivated people who will work for the least pay while making the most promises to get any job.
-- Same considerations for negotiating overhead expenses: food, maintenance, etc.
-- Must please those shareholders!
But, please be sensitive -- corporations are "people", too!.
Compounding the problem -- Where do you find educated people to do these jobs when school vouchers divert $$ from public education so more prosperous kids can attend schools that teach only what they want to learn.
The result is truly a race to the bottom where the only winners are lawyers who take big, highly publicized, cases on contingency with the expectation of a large cut of a huge settlement.
Society would be better served if the legally trained were paid to oversee the integrity of daily operations. But who wants to do that when big outrageous cases make more money. Just wait until things get worse -- the money will get better. It's all about cash flow, right?
If Trump wasn't supporting for-profit prisons, I'd say outrages like the one described in this article illustrate why people voted for him.
-- When decisions and livelihoods boil down to a matter of selecting the lowest bidder who makes the greatest number of promises to do great things.
Let's see, a State selects the private company who makes the best promises. ["Art of the Deal"] Then that company tries to find people who can actually meet the commitments while pursuing the marginally qualified/motivated people who will work for the least pay while making the most promises to get any job.
-- Same considerations for negotiating overhead expenses: food, maintenance, etc.
-- Must please those shareholders!
But, please be sensitive -- corporations are "people", too!.
Compounding the problem -- Where do you find educated people to do these jobs when school vouchers divert $$ from public education so more prosperous kids can attend schools that teach only what they want to learn.
The result is truly a race to the bottom where the only winners are lawyers who take big, highly publicized, cases on contingency with the expectation of a large cut of a huge settlement.
Society would be better served if the legally trained were paid to oversee the integrity of daily operations. But who wants to do that when big outrageous cases make more money. Just wait until things get worse -- the money will get better. It's all about cash flow, right?
If Trump wasn't supporting for-profit prisons, I'd say outrages like the one described in this article illustrate why people voted for him.
7
The comment from QED says all we need to know about a goodly number of our citizens: "*shrug* so a convict died. I cannot say this keeps me up at night - committing crimes comes with some lethal risks." Apparently a non-violent crime--selling one prescription pill to an informant--is an act deserving of the death penalty. I'm sure QED would have a different opinion if this happened to one of his relatives.
Sometimes commenters write in about injustices, "This isn't who we [Americans] are." Well, yes it is. We are the people who incarcerate a larger share of our population for longer periods than any other country, and keep a significant number in soul-destroying solitary confinement. We are the people whose secretary of state, Madeleine Albright, remarked on the sanctions which caused the deaths of half a million Iraqi children: "I think this is a very hard choice, but the price–we think the price is worth it." I'm sure she would've had a different opinion if one of those children had been her own.
Sometimes commenters write in about injustices, "This isn't who we [Americans] are." Well, yes it is. We are the people who incarcerate a larger share of our population for longer periods than any other country, and keep a significant number in soul-destroying solitary confinement. We are the people whose secretary of state, Madeleine Albright, remarked on the sanctions which caused the deaths of half a million Iraqi children: "I think this is a very hard choice, but the price–we think the price is worth it." I'm sure she would've had a different opinion if one of those children had been her own.
11
"The dissent treated what happened to Mr. Glisson as a random one-off, ..."
Well, was it or wasn't it? It makes all the difference in the world to your argument. For instance is not proof.
Well, was it or wasn't it? It makes all the difference in the world to your argument. For instance is not proof.
1
I admit it was a disgrace for Trump to bring the survivors of family members who were killed by illegal immigrants to these speech yesterday - those cases are few. however, the nyt cherry picking these sob stories on the other side as just as disgraceful. anyone can find one case to fit their narrative... sorry, not buying this as a major issue, next.
3
it is typical of the NYT to attack private enterprise, this article is a perfect example of faulty logic extrapolating from two examples to a general indictment of private prisons. the guards who work at public prisons are not exactly on the side of angels. the tens millions paid out for physical abuse and wrongful deaths is sufficient proof.
It is tiresome to hear from readers and nyt writers impugning the profit motive. public employees also have profit motives, constantly demanding higher wages and benefits taxpayers can ill afford.
It is tiresome to hear from readers and nyt writers impugning the profit motive. public employees also have profit motives, constantly demanding higher wages and benefits taxpayers can ill afford.
@charles: "The guards who work at public prisons are not exactly on the side of angels." That's true, but the guards aren't the problem. The owners are. They pay the guards as little as possible to maximize their own profits, so they don't exactly hire the best specimens of humanity. The fact that they consider lawsuits a cost of doing business shows how egregiously they rip off the taxpayers.
1
If people went to jail instead of these cases being resolved by their employer's insurance company writing a check, things would change. I'm not sure why so few of these kinds of cases seem to end up in criminal court.
1
With Trump judges and Trump Department of Justice we can expect American governance to return to its centuries old practices of mass incarceration and brutal treatment of the poor and minorities. As always black males will be singled out for the worst institutional abuse. Trump judges will be very good with that. No recourse, no justice, just the southern culture of punishment writ large. American justice returns to its long nightmare of the soul.
7
The Quakers in Pennsylvania sought to reform America's prison system with much fanfare. DeTocqueville, a student of prison reform, considered Pennsylvania's prisons to be the perfect prototype of despotism. That was almost two centuries ago.
In my humble opinion, prison reform, however well intended, is futile. Prisons are horrible, despotic places. Each and every one of them. Stories of sexual assaults, violent and repeated fights with guards, and pervasive corruption are not made up. Any public monies that go to prisons don't don't contribute to the common good of law abiding citizens. Money is pesnt on prison reform sparingly. Moreover, whatever spending the government there is does not change who populates our prisons, who patrols them, and who administers them. Keep in mind that the education requirement for a warden is generally a GED or a high school diploma. They get paid about $75,000.
Tocqueville concluded that Pennsylvania's despotic prisons were a good model for France. He well understand that, when it comes to prison reform, keep you expectations low.
In my humble opinion, prison reform, however well intended, is futile. Prisons are horrible, despotic places. Each and every one of them. Stories of sexual assaults, violent and repeated fights with guards, and pervasive corruption are not made up. Any public monies that go to prisons don't don't contribute to the common good of law abiding citizens. Money is pesnt on prison reform sparingly. Moreover, whatever spending the government there is does not change who populates our prisons, who patrols them, and who administers them. Keep in mind that the education requirement for a warden is generally a GED or a high school diploma. They get paid about $75,000.
Tocqueville concluded that Pennsylvania's despotic prisons were a good model for France. He well understand that, when it comes to prison reform, keep you expectations low.
1
Welcome to the new normal: For profit prisons, for profit healthcare, for profit schools, for profit highways.. and the list goes on and on...
14
It is a pleasure to read MS. Greenhouse' articles. Well reasoned and structured,
and on important topics.
I look forward to many more.
and on important topics.
I look forward to many more.
7
The absurdity of the judge's dissent in this case stems from her assertion that the plaintiff would have to prove a pattern of negligence to convince the court that prison authorities intentionally neglected her son's welfare. In effect, the judge ruled that the prison authorities could abuse or neglect prisoners until enough had died to establish a pattern. If we applied this same logic to street crimes, a robber would have the right to steal from people until the court determined that his actions had created a pattern demonstrating intent.
The judge's opinion might have conformed to the law, but it had nothing to do with justice.
The judge's opinion might have conformed to the law, but it had nothing to do with justice.
253
What a sick country. Especially the dissenting judges who choose to look the other way when the illegality is right there in their faces. Shame on them. May they get what they deserve.
8
Judge Diane Sykes dissent is breathtaking in its callousness. Mrs. Glisson would be in her 70s or older which would make this search for justice all the more difficult and Judge Sykes causal arrogance all the more hard to bear. In California a judge was brought down for no less, I can't help but wish Judge Sykes a similar wake-up call.
21
Pay attention D Trump, it is clear
Using for profit Prisons that we're
Enhancing vile care
For all inmates there
The moral corruption's severe.
Using for profit Prisons that we're
Enhancing vile care
For all inmates there
The moral corruption's severe.
32
Bless you, Ms G; you're so right,
The for profit Prison's a blight
I doubt Mr Trump
This venue will dump
Lots of cash, actions rash out of sight.
I
The for profit Prison's a blight
I doubt Mr Trump
This venue will dump
Lots of cash, actions rash out of sight.
I
20
Linda documents an admittedly horrendous case, which if allegations are true compels severe reprimands of Indiana officials, and criminal prosecution of Corizon on at least negligent manslaughter charges … into an argument for why private prisons and outsourced prison services should go the way of the Dodo generally. It’s not a compelling argument.
Across America our states are in severe distress trying to fund existing services. There is NO basic service that is not under severe pressure, including Medicaid, education, infrastructure maintenance and all aspects of law enforcement, including prisons. States have taken up predatory fining and increases in the cost of services to residents merely to … barely … make ends meet. If third-parties can provide services more economically, the states have no choice but to look seriously at them or raise taxes. They already raise taxes with depressing regularity.
If Nicholas Glisson died in prison through negligence or through the deprivation of medical services Corizon chose not to provide, then they should come up on serious charges and be made to pay a serious financial penalty. But while the provision of outsourced services should be regulated and supervised by authorities, it‘s no more compelling an argument that they not be used if they’re generally as effective but more economical than it is to suggest that because a car company let a defect through that resulted in injury and loss of life they should be shut down.
Across America our states are in severe distress trying to fund existing services. There is NO basic service that is not under severe pressure, including Medicaid, education, infrastructure maintenance and all aspects of law enforcement, including prisons. States have taken up predatory fining and increases in the cost of services to residents merely to … barely … make ends meet. If third-parties can provide services more economically, the states have no choice but to look seriously at them or raise taxes. They already raise taxes with depressing regularity.
If Nicholas Glisson died in prison through negligence or through the deprivation of medical services Corizon chose not to provide, then they should come up on serious charges and be made to pay a serious financial penalty. But while the provision of outsourced services should be regulated and supervised by authorities, it‘s no more compelling an argument that they not be used if they’re generally as effective but more economical than it is to suggest that because a car company let a defect through that resulted in injury and loss of life they should be shut down.
3
Except use of a specific car company is NOT mandatory.
3
And such will be the case as long as this society and its political class place far higher value on money and its accumulation than on human life and the quality thereof. Politics anymore seems to be a game of "who gets to be the free-loader (and richer) this time around"
6
"It’s not a compelling argument."
Yes, it is.
"Across America our states are in severe distress trying to fund existing services."
The obvious solution: fund more schools and fund fewer prisons.
"they’re generally as effective but more economical," that is, cheaper.
What evidence is there in support of that claim?
Yes, it is.
"Across America our states are in severe distress trying to fund existing services."
The obvious solution: fund more schools and fund fewer prisons.
"they’re generally as effective but more economical," that is, cheaper.
What evidence is there in support of that claim?
4
You don't even need a private prison to have financial incentives for profit. In a situation I learned about not long ago, a county jail was underfeeding prisoners and then charging ripoff prices for extra food, and charging ripoff fees to get the money to prisoners to buy the stuff. Boss Hogg schemes like this seem to happen across the country, supported by electronic fund transfer firms used by family and friends of prisoners.
87
This practice goes on in many county jails, with states that enacted laws that allow limiting prisoners to two child-sized meals per day. See my write up http://www.rimaregas.com/2015/08/a-us-humanrights-crisis-gulags-and-disa...
51
Indiana, Indiana. Not as Christian as you think you are, to put it mildly.
137
"Think" you are? How about "pretend" you are?
6
There was a similar case in New York with a diabetic inmate, recently, if I recall. Inmates with chronic medical issues need a plan in place from day 1 of incarceration. You can't wait until day 2 to administer insulin or other lifesaving medications. I am a doctor and worked with prisoners from Rikers. This was wrong. My sympathy to his family.
Also, his crime is irrelevant, he was a human being, deserving of medical care and respect.
Also, his crime is irrelevant, he was a human being, deserving of medical care and respect.
178
"...his crime is irrelevant, he was a human being, deserving of medical care and respect."
What a different world it would be if the arresting officer believed so, if the trial court believed so, if the Federal Court hearing the 1983 claim believed so, if this were all the Op-Ed writer needed to say for us readers to nod our heads and remind ourselves, "Yes, I'll have to try again today to treat ALL my fellows with care and respect."
What a different world it would be if the arresting officer believed so, if the trial court believed so, if the Federal Court hearing the 1983 claim believed so, if this were all the Op-Ed writer needed to say for us readers to nod our heads and remind ourselves, "Yes, I'll have to try again today to treat ALL my fellows with care and respect."
5
Despite the egregious facts surrounding Mr. Glissons arrest, conviction, sentence and appalling mistreatment while in prison, you can rest assured that there are a not an insubstantial number of Americans who could not care less about the welfare of prisoners, and in point of fact believe that in this country they deserve nothing more than to rot in their jail cells, perform hard labor, and be fed a diet of bread and water.
That is the nature of crime and punishment in America. It is not enough for us to deprive the accused of a fair trial with competent representation or a convict of his liberty. Imprisonment must include hard labor, prison justice (rape), inedible/unsafe food, arbitrarily long sentences, and in capital cases, a swift and unappealed death penalty.
Our country is not as exceptional as we keep telling ourselves we are.
That is the nature of crime and punishment in America. It is not enough for us to deprive the accused of a fair trial with competent representation or a convict of his liberty. Imprisonment must include hard labor, prison justice (rape), inedible/unsafe food, arbitrarily long sentences, and in capital cases, a swift and unappealed death penalty.
Our country is not as exceptional as we keep telling ourselves we are.
117
Oh, but we are. Among countries whose dominant political and cultural heritage derives from Northern Europe, we are exceptional-- indeed, unique-- in our callous and vengeful approach to incarceration.
Among the same cohort of nations, we are also unique in our formative heritage of race-based oppression.
Coincidence? Surely not.
Among the same cohort of nations, we are also unique in our formative heritage of race-based oppression.
Coincidence? Surely not.
5
In 1996 my ex wife had me imprisoned for ten days under a protection from abuse order that she sought. A judge had originally blocked the action because of obvious flaws and his own great misgivings, later proved 100% correct. But through misinterpretation of the Judge's order for an "exam" I was remanded to the custody of the sheriff who placed me, unknown to the judge, in the county prison. I immediately became ill with high fever, vomiting, and urinating blood. I was in pain, could not eat, and was generally miserable. I asked for assistance and medical attention and was turned down. By the 3rd day prison guards began reporting that "something was wrong with the prisoner". On day six, after not being able to rise from bed, a prison nurse took a blood and urine sample. The next day I was given an antibiotic and 3 days later I was released to a hospital
by order of the judge who finally learned of my incarceration. I had a kidney infection and a prostate infection. I returned home after release from the hospital and it was a week before I was strong enough to return to work. I considered suing but, I simply lacked the strength and will to do so.
When I read the horror stories of today's prisoners in county and state prisons I am not surprised by I am dismayed. Indeed, I'm disgusted. I was very fortunate in that friends and family who learned of my incarceration and illness had acted on my behalf without my knowing. I moved from my former state. I'm healthy and retired.
by order of the judge who finally learned of my incarceration. I had a kidney infection and a prostate infection. I returned home after release from the hospital and it was a week before I was strong enough to return to work. I considered suing but, I simply lacked the strength and will to do so.
When I read the horror stories of today's prisoners in county and state prisons I am not surprised by I am dismayed. Indeed, I'm disgusted. I was very fortunate in that friends and family who learned of my incarceration and illness had acted on my behalf without my knowing. I moved from my former state. I'm healthy and retired.
99
Note that Mr. Glisson passed away in 2010, six-and-a-half years ago. It will be all the more difficult to prove her case. Mrs. Glisson's wait for justice is in itself is a travesty.
90
The people or the United States have lost their conscience. Soon they will lose their freedom.
164
This is a tragic case, but I'm not convinced he would have fared any better in a prison run by the prison guards unions. The NYT has documented vast abuses at Riker's Island, which is a government run prison. Can anyone imagine what would have happened to someone in this condition at Riker's Island?
23
Don't confuse the issue with hypotheticals. This happened in Indiana, not NYC.
4
"a prison run by the prison guards unions"
Will you name a prison, for-profit or non-profit, public or private, anywhere in the United States, that is run by unions of any kind, whether prison-guards' unions or any other kinds of unions, Mr. Waddell?
Will you name a prison, for-profit or non-profit, public or private, anywhere in the United States, that is run by unions of any kind, whether prison-guards' unions or any other kinds of unions, Mr. Waddell?
2
"Can anyone imagine what would have happened to someone in this condition at Riker's Island?"
But this didn't happen at Riker's. There's no reason to "imagine what would have happened," because we already know what, in fact, _did_ happen and _where_ it happened.
It was not at Riker's.
But this didn't happen at Riker's. There's no reason to "imagine what would have happened," because we already know what, in fact, _did_ happen and _where_ it happened.
It was not at Riker's.
3
Clive Stafford Smith, a lawyer with Reprieve, has written about the disastrous US 'justice' system:
http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/311033/the-injustice-system-by-c...
http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/311033/the-injustice-system-by-c...
12
Regardless of what anyone thinks about the justification for someone being imprisoned, these are some of the most vulnerable people in our country, and they are under our care, supposedly (ha) for genuine rehabilitation so that human lives are not simply thrown away for good. If you go read the investigative reporting done by Mother Jones not too long ago on this topic, which involved undercover work by someone who worked as a guard, then the magnitude of the problem becomes apparent if it has not filtered in by now. These are human beings. I am tired of seeing profit-motivated approaches applied in areas in which business has no business. We are judged by how we treat the least of us.
213
IMO, we cannot as a society decide whether we want to rehabilitate prisoners or punish them as a deterrent to future crime. We do neither well.
4
"I am tired of seeing profit-motivated approaches applied in areas in which business has no business."
You mean like health care?
You mean like health care?
5
Richard: Yes, I agree partly. I think pharmaceutical companies do an excellent job of discovering and developing new potential drugs, but they tend to go after those that have big market potential and often add little value, either because they are not that much better than existing drugs or because they target areas that often can be treated without drugs. Still, I'm OK with profit-driven drug development if done responsibly because profit can drive innovative discovery. On the larger question of providing reasonably affordable health care to all of us, that is a more difficult question, but I think that a combination of profit-driven companies and government-regulated and -subsidized (in many cases) care is needed because costs are simply too high for many (most?) to be able to afford without some regulation to keep costs down and some subsidies. I think the benefits for society outweigh the costs, and it is a moral question also.
Private prisons are for PROFIT prisons.
They increase profits by denying needed care.
They can and do get away with this denial because most people believe prisoners [having committed crimes] do not deserve this care.
Punishments [length of a sentence] should be determined by the trial judge [pursuant to laws passed by the legislature].
Punishment in the form of denying needed care should not be levied by a private prison system just interested in making money.
The whole idea of private prisons is seriously flawed.
The prison system should have rehabilitation as one of its major goals.
A private system makes more money if prisoners are NOT rehabilitated.
If prisoners return after new crimes the private system makes more money.
They increase profits by denying needed care.
They can and do get away with this denial because most people believe prisoners [having committed crimes] do not deserve this care.
Punishments [length of a sentence] should be determined by the trial judge [pursuant to laws passed by the legislature].
Punishment in the form of denying needed care should not be levied by a private prison system just interested in making money.
The whole idea of private prisons is seriously flawed.
The prison system should have rehabilitation as one of its major goals.
A private system makes more money if prisoners are NOT rehabilitated.
If prisoners return after new crimes the private system makes more money.
187
Public prisons are for profit prisons too. Everybody working there makes money as does the union and the pension fund managers. The suppliers of food & goods make money, the construction companies and judges and lawyers and pols all make money. Who loses money is the taxpayers, which is why private prisons well run would be a very good idea.
8
"Public prisons are for profit prisons too."
Just as, say, the publicly-owned Department of Defense is a for-profit arm of the military-industrial complex, as President Trump acknowledged the other night, when he announced that department's new $54,000,000,000 budget.
Just as, say, the publicly-owned Department of Defense is a for-profit arm of the military-industrial complex, as President Trump acknowledged the other night, when he announced that department's new $54,000,000,000 budget.
1
It seems that you missed the article part saying that studies have shown that private prisons in aggregate are neither cheaper nor more effective. Hence they cost taxpayers more for less benefit.
5
Judges shouldn't be prisoners' only resort when it comes to making sure their basic human rights are honored. This nation has a very long history of mistreating its prisoners and finding new ways to mistreat them each time laws are passed to cure a particular type of abuse.
Gross neglect, to the point of human rights abuses haven't been uncommon in many prison systems, whether we are talking about neglect of medical conditions, negligence when it comes to what prisoners are fed, and even how much food they are given. Some states and counties have passed laws that limit how much food is served daily to two meals a day, in quantities one would give a 5 year old child. Prisoners who are diagnosed with diabetes are not given meals that are fit for someone who has that illness.
These issues have been known for quite some time. They got worse. Prisoners went on strike this summer. The media hardly covered it. Maybe now that the horror that is Trumpism is upon us, the media will be willing to give AG Sessions the scrutiny he deserves?
===
My piece from 8/15 on this topic: http://www.rimaregas.com/2015/08/a-us-humanrights-crisis-gulags-and-disa...
Gross neglect, to the point of human rights abuses haven't been uncommon in many prison systems, whether we are talking about neglect of medical conditions, negligence when it comes to what prisoners are fed, and even how much food they are given. Some states and counties have passed laws that limit how much food is served daily to two meals a day, in quantities one would give a 5 year old child. Prisoners who are diagnosed with diabetes are not given meals that are fit for someone who has that illness.
These issues have been known for quite some time. They got worse. Prisoners went on strike this summer. The media hardly covered it. Maybe now that the horror that is Trumpism is upon us, the media will be willing to give AG Sessions the scrutiny he deserves?
===
My piece from 8/15 on this topic: http://www.rimaregas.com/2015/08/a-us-humanrights-crisis-gulags-and-disa...
48
Gee...prisons sound horrible. If only there were a way to avoid going to them, like not committing crimes. Who'd of thunk it?
3
QED,
Even criminals have human rights. Every other first world nation observes them, punctiliously. Some among us, pride themselves on hiring monsters with no ethics to run prisons in which they know abuses are the norm, when half the voting public approves of this monstrous behavior.
Even criminals have human rights. Every other first world nation observes them, punctiliously. Some among us, pride themselves on hiring monsters with no ethics to run prisons in which they know abuses are the norm, when half the voting public approves of this monstrous behavior.
72
Which states limit food to portions appropriate for a five year-old?
1
If I were empress, everyone involved would be in the same nasty prison. And, just for fun, the Presidential Apprentice would be in prison. In Russia.
35
Selling one pill, the death penalty. Stealing billions on Wall Street, bonuses. What a " screwed " up country.
355
There's a book that outlines that injustice in the justice system. https://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/04/13/books/review/the-divide-by-matt-ta...
9
Dare I suggest that the next public official at any level og government who may be sentenced to jail time for some malfeasance be required to serve that sentence in a for profit prison facility halfway across the country from his/her home state. The let's see what they make of this unconscionable shoveling of tax dollars to private business.
267
State and county prisons are bad enough. I was arrested and held in jail from Tuesday before Thanksgiving until the following Monday morning, when all charges were dismissed at 9 am. I was brought back to the prison and held there in a single cell until I was "discovered" again at 11 pm. Then I was released on a dark street miles away from transportation.
This was Santa Rita Jail in California. If a liberal state can do that, a private prison can do much worse.
Most of the world segregates prisoners. The United States punishes them, with a little too much satisfaction. It's salacious.
This was Santa Rita Jail in California. If a liberal state can do that, a private prison can do much worse.
Most of the world segregates prisoners. The United States punishes them, with a little too much satisfaction. It's salacious.
130
Occupy Government - You fail on two counts. 1. You do not say what you were arrested for and, 2. you presume true the sheer unsubstantiated bias that whatever you imagine to be a "liberal state" is generically more humane than some other. You may have missed this paper's review of liberal NYC's Rikers Island?
1
What makes you believe that a for-profit prison would have treated you worse?
There are lots of anecdotes in the comments about poor treatment in jails nd prisons, nd they have all been government rune.
There are lots of anecdotes in the comments about poor treatment in jails nd prisons, nd they have all been government rune.
Do some proofing of your work, why don't you? Also, private prisons' main objective is profit...why would they not cut corners? Prisoners are seen as sub-human, so who cares if they're safe or nourished! Also true to an extent in public prisons, but at least they're a bit more regulated.
1
Private outsourcing of services is an important issue. Yet policy has become like hamburger meat; ground up and mixed in obfuscation and under the guise of ideology/draining the swamps, as to be swallowed whole by supporters.
The concept of "America" has been a victim of a shell game stretching from extraordinary rendition to waterboarding to all things Trump. "I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that his justice cannot sleep forever."
The concept of "America" has been a victim of a shell game stretching from extraordinary rendition to waterboarding to all things Trump. "I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that his justice cannot sleep forever."
35
America has always run on the concept of a crooked shell game. An anecdote--an Anglican cleric attended court sessions in NY and decided to move to Canada after seemingly every case involved a con or swindle. This occurred in around 1812.
9
H Schiffman - The quote you failed to attribute (to Jefferson) ironically enough applies to Jefferson.
One con always dislikes other cons busting in on his territory.
Sounds like depraved indifference & just the fact that his neck brace wasn't given to him should be sufficient to prove malfeasance. What scares me is that so many of our courts appear to ignore law & just rule on their own feelings about cases. A right wing court will destroy all the values I was raised to believe are core to the US.
240
The offense occurred in 2010. What makes you think things got worse on January 20th?
Dear RKD of Park Slope: You said, "so many of our courts appear to ignore law & just rule on their own feelings about cases." Wait--"appear to"? No, they really, truly, tragically, DO rule based on personal bias. Don't EVER be caught in NYC Housing Court, for example! Sheesh! And as for upstate New York, for another example, the Times did a terrifying expose about 10 years ago that, I assure you (as a new upstate resident I witness), is as chillingly accurate today as it was then.
"In Tiny Courts of New York, Abuses of Law and Power."
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/25/nyregion/25courts.html
"In Tiny Courts of New York, Abuses of Law and Power."
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/25/nyregion/25courts.html