Longreads: The shocking world of private prisons, and their profits

This article is part of our new Longreads series.  We’re diving deep into the world of private prisons and how they are growing at alarmingly high rates.  Between 1990 and 2009 alone, ehum, private prison populations across America grew by a shocking 1600%. 

This longreads article was penned by Sultan Khan after a months long research project with the assistance of several crucial and critical sources. 

Prison life in America is no joke.  Not only does it tear apart people, it, tears apart families; bonds, and the very things that shape our human lives.  But for corporations and the government that own prisons in more than 33 states, private prisons, are nothing more than major cash cows. Such cash cows, that, the amount of money they make makes literal institutions like banks seem like chump change.

For starters, Democracy Matters, points out that between  1990 and 2009 populations in said systems grew by 1600%.    This included populations in private prisons across a total of 33 states, including,   the so-called “liberally progressive” states of Massachusetts and New York.

Statistically shown, prisoners, are twice as likely to be black.  Things like high-bail amounts;  and mandatory minimum sentences are all to blame here.   Simple arrests like marijuana possession, likely, account for a large portion of prison populations [and said corporations profit].  The ACLU noted that for 2018, uh, nearly half of all drug related arrests were simply for marijuana.

Fact:  The ACLU noted in their report that despite claims others, particularly by figures like Trump, black people are 3.73% more likely to be arrested for something like marijuana possession. 

Shocking Fact:  Private prisons in these states (AZ; OK, LA, and VA) all have contracts that require their prisons to have maximum populations at all times.   Democracy Matters found that these particular prisons per contractual obligations, and financial obligations, are required to do so or things may go south with their benefactors.

Financial details & overall worth

Publicly available documents, and, those obtained through FOIA requests revealed shocking financial details about the booming prison industry. As of January 2019, the private for-profit prison industry is worth about  $70billion as of 2015.   Fast forward 4 years, the current worth of the industry, is actually unknown.

Shocking findings

Inside the prison population, one in 12 people were incarcerated in private prisons in 2016 (1 in 12 of roughly 128,000 people).   That, particularly, was about a 47% jump since 2000 according to the Sentencing Project — a non-profit that is currently fighting to stop the injustices that the private prison industry monopolizes on.

Sources: Bureau of Justice Statistics; The Sentencing Project (2000-2016).

Trump made private prisons huge winners

A previously written CBS News article greatly detailed how Trump has intentionally changed policies and reversed Obama-era policies, essentially, to ensure private prisons maximize their profits.

Annual profits

While the industry’s total worth is unknown, what is known, is that they make over $7.4B worth of income each year. As Smart Asset notes, that,  completely dwarfs the income of 133 nations across more than half of planet earth.

Where did it start?

While there’s no surefire way to determine where exactly the problem started, what we did find, is that a part of the problem did start with Richard Nixon and former New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller.  During his time as President, Nixon, famously helped declare a war on drugs. The declaration would go on to spark the boom of the humungous industry, and, would also go on to ignite the debate for decades to come.

What we found interesting about drug-arrests, particularly in places like New York, was the stance of former governor (during that era guys) Nelson Rockefeller. Rockefeller once said that for drug users and dealers, they, get  “No parole, no probation” essentially stating that they would be locked up and the key would be thrown away.  His policies at the time, ehum, threatened to throw drug users (even in the smallest of kind) away for 15 years to life.

Corrections Corporation of America – The Beast Of Them All

As fascinating as the corporation might be, the corporation, has more blood on its hands than any singular dictator in the world ever could.  Since its inception on 28 January 1983,  the corporation has housed millions of immigrants; detainees, general inmates (and others).     The corporation first launched itself in Texas after its founders Hutto; Ferguson, and Beasley bought out the Olympic Motel on New Years Day that year.   The corporation would go on to become the largest private prison network that has ever existed in the United States of America.