MASS INCARCERATION: The New Black Plague
The Prison-Industrial Complex, a term used to describe the rise of the prison industry, is illustrious of the capitalist society we inhabit. As the War on Drugs ravished through the United States, the prison population increased and so did the demand for prisons.
"Colored bodies constitute the main human raw material in this vast experiment to disappear the major social problems of our time. Once the aura of magic is stripped away from the imprisonment solution, what is revealed is racism, class bias, and the parasitic seduction of capitalist profit." - Angela Davis
Private Prisons
The increase in the demand for prisons also brought about an new form of correctional facilities wherein a private administration is contracted by the
Money Makers
Large corporations were able to use this demand to their advantage and began to invest in prisons. Many corporations have invested financially in prisons, given their product to prisons in exchange for money, or more commonly, use the prisoners as
Keeping Up With the Finances
With the controversy surrounding private prisons, it is easy to question how they are still able to make money. In their contracts with states, private prison corporations demand that a large percentage of prison beds must be filled in exchange for housing the prisoners. Most quotas go as high as 90% and if the states are unable to meet this quota, tax payers will be forced to make the difference. For instance, Colorado was once fortunate enough to see a decrease in their crime rates. Because of this, they were unable to meet their quota, leaving the citizens to pay $2 million in taxes.
The pressure of meeting these unbelievable quotas has come at the expense of black communities. Due to the fact that poverty and crime are commonalities in black communities, states often see them as an easy target. They often increase police surveillance in those area to increase the chances meeting their quotas.
ALEC
Private prisons often make their profits through politicians lobbying for them.
The ALEC organization was specifically created to lobby for different causes. They essentially create templates for bills that politicians can fill out and pass off as their own. These bills mainly aid the companies invested in ALEC, like the Corrections Corporation of America, or the CCA, the largest private prison corporation in the US. Many of the corrupt laws created for criminal justice "reform" came from ALEC bills. One example being the Truth In Sentencing law, which required prisoners to serve at least 85% of their sentence. This law kept prison beds filled longer, benefiting both the state as they attempt to meet their quotas and private prisons.
workers. Companies such as Motorola, Microsoft, and Boeing have used prison labor, almost as a form of outsourcing. With there being no possibility of unionizing, no true minimum wages, and no necessity for health benefits or insurance, companies see prison labor as a preferable choice of production.
government to house prisoners. These private prisons have become more common as of late but not without its fair share of controversy. Supporters have often claimed that private prisons are safer and more protected than public prisons but, there have been many cases where this has been proven wrong. For example, within the first year of opening the Northeast Ohio Correctional Facility, operated by one of the largest private prison corporations, there was thirteen stabbings, six escapes, and two murders. Another infamous case would be the 2010 Arizona prison escape where three prisoners manged to escape from the Kingman Arizona State Prison, a private prison operated by the Management and Training Corporation.
