Quote Originally Posted by Phunnyman
With sincere respect to TruePyroman and I'm not even trying to be a smartass or anything but seriously asking, who do you think should run the state prisons that have been contracted out to private companies?

I personally think that if a private organization can with oversight to ensure the safety and rights of the prisoners, can more efficiently and effectively operate a prison, then so be it if the state government with the blessing of the citizens should. Again, very close oversight should be used to make sure that no one is being tortured or abused beyond what basic human rights should dictate.)

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Phunnyman, I think you make a good arguement here. I believe in free market capitalism, too, and would agree with this on most things but I believe prison is a whole other kettle of fish. It has always just seemed different to me for some reason, it is a sort of trust or an agreement that we all have as Americans that no person shall ever be subject to cruel and unusual punishment, not even if they are inprisoned.

If you look at the Bill of Rights that Madison and Jefferson introduced at the First United States Congress in 1789, half of the ten amendments concern rights of Americans against unfair treatment by the criminal justice system. The eithth amendment seems to sum it all up well in just sixteen words.

Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.

Our founding fathers understood the dangers of a prison state and felt the need to write protections into the Constitution. This Constitution is still the law of the land today, despite the confusion by the pols.

Private prisons don't save money for tax payers. Any savings becomes profit for the share holders, so they cut costs by understaffing, paying guards minumum wage, cutting all medical needs and basically letting Americans die in a cage. Profits becomes bribes to judges and pols who continue to feed the market with insane laws like cannabis prohibition.

The good news is Cheney and Berto have been indicted in Texas for Prison Profiteering. Its a start, but they need to line up all those bastards. :twocents: