OPPOSE PRIVATIZATION OF PRISONS! The mentally ill need to be in mental heath hospitals, not prisons!

THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH THIS: 

The United States of America is home to ...

4% of the world's population and 25% of the world's PRISON population.



Here are some examples of what is wrong with this:

1) Kids for cash scandal demonstrates why we should never privatize prisons: "The 'Kids for cash' scandal unfolded in 2008 over judicial kickbacks at the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Two judges, President Judge Mark Ciavarella and Senior Judge Michael Conahan, were accused of accepting money from Robert Mericle, builder of two private, for-profit juvenile facilities, in return for contracting with the facilities and imposing harsh sentences on juveniles brought before their courts to increase the number of inmates in the detention centers. ..." Also see: "Judges, Mark Ciavarella & Michael Conahan Guilty in Scheme to Jail Youths for Profit" and "Pennsylvania Judge Gets 'Life Sentence' For Prison Kickback Scheme"  by Walter Pavlo, Contributor.

 

2.) "Maine officials seeking pepper-spray video leak" By David Hench (Staff Writer). This video is very disturbing but this is how the mentally ill are treated in prisons. They need to be in mental hospitals:

 

"... The newspaper's story and the accompanying video offered a rare glimpse inside the prison and into a confrontation between officers and a medicated, mentally ill inmate.

Paul Schlosser had received hospital treatment for a gouge he inflicted on his left arm, but had repeatedly removed the dressing in an effort to get medication and a book to distract him.

Inmates who hurt themselves to manipulate staff are among the most difficult to deal with, Ponte said last week.

Officers restrained Schlosser in a restraint chair so the medical staff could treat his arm, because he refused to go to the medical unit voluntarily.

When one officer pinned his head to the chair, Schlosser struggled and spit at an officer. Welch sprayed him at close range with pepper spray, called OC spray, from a canister intended to be used on multiple people at a distance of 18 to 20 feet, according to an investigator's report. ..."

 

For a more direct link to just the video and not the article, 17 minute video.

 

3.) Prisons are becoming big business. If you privatize prisons, the crooks will come out of the woodwork to run them. Your son, grandson, or other relative may be sentenced a lot harsher so the judge gets his kickback and the prison make more money. OPPOSE PRIVATIZATION OF PRISONS! See: "13 Signs That America's Prison System Is Out Of Control" by Michael Kelley.

 

4.) "Lake Erie Prison Plagued By Violence And Drugs After Corporate Takeover" by Chris Kirkham.

 

"... The report's findings offer ammunition for those decrying the trend toward privatizing prisons -- not only in Ohio, but across much of the country -- as strapped communities seek to raise revenue and minimize costs by handing control of inmates to profit-making entities. ... Corrections Corporation of America, which bought the Lake Erie institution in late 2011 for $73 million, has touted the purchase as a model of the benefits of prison privatization, arguing that it saves state taxpayers money while elevating the welfare of inmates."

There are many other examples of what is wrong with the prison system. I do not believe that: prisons should be run for-profit; mental ill inmates should be transferred to mental health hospitals/facilities; prisoners should be rehabilitated; prison rape should be stopped; etc.

If you have time, please follow the links to read the articles in their entirety.