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"Financial incentives to maintain prison head-counts is a crime against humanity." I'm not so sure about this. It's the police/prosecutors that put people in
by edblarney 10y ago
"Financial incentives to maintain prison head-counts is a crime against humanity."
I'm not so sure about this.
It's the police/prosecutors that put people in there, and parole hearing folks as well - neither of which are 'private entities'.
So, the connection between 'headcount' and 'ownership' is not so direct.
It's entirely plausible that a small change in law could affect how many are actually put in prison.
Obviously - lobbying is an issue, but it's indirect.
- edblarney 10y agoI think the problem in the US is the odd way you prosecute - you can do 'one thing' and up getting charted with '10 things' and getting 10 stacked sentences which adds up to 100 years. Also - the punishment for small amounts of weed in most states is insane. Likewise - the drinking age is crazy high in the US. Some minor changes in the law could really quite radically affect how many people are in jail.