Posted on 11/19/2015 4:46:45 PM PST by Talkwire
Jails are NOT profit centers, and people in custody are not slaves. Privatization of jail system phones and commissary has resulted in overcharging inmates, and a lucrative revenue source for the Contra Costa County Jail.
Remember our justice system is based around the presumption of innocence, "Innocent until proven Guilty". In fact, in 78% of Contra Costa County jail detainees are awaiting trial. These are people who could not make bail and are in the jail awaiting their day in court. Pre-sentence inmates are milked like revenue cows to make money for the County.
The Contra Costa Jail makes $1.5Million a year from overcharging detainees for phone and commissary services.
(Excerpt) Read more at jayeryanlaw.com ...
Private for profit jails, obviously a bad idea. This is a county jail charging for services the proceeds of which go towards other inmate services.
“Granted, this money is spent on inmate welfare and services: Library, Chaplain, hygiene, recreation, TV, etc. “
The writer complains about expense of phone calls, and that they are recorded.
So what, write a letter, you ain’t going anywhere.
So, forcing me to feed and clothe and provide shelter for someone to sit on their ass and play spades or watch tv all day is not slavery?
Well, I can sure see profiting by their labor vs profiting by their bill of services given them on leaving.
Maybe it would be better than saying that they aren’t slaves as the article did to say that they aren’t guests at the Hyatt Regency? Or even the Days Inn?
So one might opine that they shouldn’t be paying more than Motel 6 prices, which would still leave some meat on the bone for minimum security jails.
Some can make it work and I believe it can be a positive for the inmates.
http://www.thedogpress.com/SideEffects/Sheriff-Joe-Arpaio_BJ-09-148.asp
TheDogPress.com learned that Maricopa County was spending $18 million dollars a year on rounding up, housing and/or destroying stray cats and dogs. Sheriff Joe offered to take over the department and the County Supervisors said okay. Arpaio took the 30 year old First Avenue jail that was no longer used for inmates and outfitted it for dogs. Sure, his critics opened fire, charging him with keeping inmates in tents and dogs in air-conditioned comfort. He just shrugged it off, staffed the animal shelter with model prisoners who looked forward to feeding and caring for the saaved strays. Today Sheriff Joe has prisoners who are trained in animal nutrition, care, and behavior and they give classes for anyone who’d like to adopt an animal.
He’s made many changes, among them quickly dropping an $18 million dollar Sheriff’s department budget to under $3 million most of which is for utilities, building maintenance, etc. One writer said “Teresa and I adopted a Weimaraner from a Maricopa County shelter two years ago. He was neutered, and current on all shots, in great health, and even had a microchip inserted the day we got him. Cost us $78.” Sheriff Arpaio pays prisoners out of fees collected for adopted animals.
Gude shew, chap!
IMO Governmental functions which can be privatized should be. The government can set standards for care. that’s how it’s done now. If the privates can make some money than so be it, as ;omg as they meet the standards.
Some private enterprise in jails made money by efficiency. If you built a new prison with excellent lines of site, then you can hire fewer guards than at san quentin where there are so many walls and corners. Also, private employers can forego unions which are so prevalent in the public sector. If they can make a buck so be it.
An amazing amount of people on this board are pro crony capitalism.
I support privatization in the abstract, but not of prisons or jails. If they operate for profit, they will look for excuses to keep as many people incarcerated for as long as possible regardless of whether it’s justified, making sure that the inmates won’t be able to function outside of them so that the profits keep coming in. They will bribe law enforcement to rush to judgment even for innocent suspects to keep the profits coming in. Corruption among staff would flourish in a way hard to imagine now.
The Kids for Cash juvenile court scandal in Wilkes-Barre is proof of what privatizing jails leads to.
Length of stay is not a big an issue in jail as in prison. Jails usually go up to 1 year sentence or till adjudication, less open to abuse.
Prisons usually haver a state auditor and that’s how they deal with time adds, cuts, etch. In my day, 1990s I don’t remember any scandals about length of stay in private prisons. I would not state run prisons are not free of abuse in adding on time. Staff can get together and make sure an inmate gets what they deserve and wardens and casework managers can do the same.
but not of prisons or jails. If they operate for profit, they will look for excuses to keep as many people incarcerated for as long as possible
Jaye was the one that was hyperventilating about slavery.
That appears to be you. Or else, like Jaye, you don’t know the difference between excessive charges on a phone bill and slavery. Some time on a south Georgia chain gang might be helpful in improving your (and Jaye’s) perspective.
> Don’t do the crime if you can’t pay the fine.
This shouldn’t apply if you are awaiting trial. There’s supposedly this whole “innocent until proven guilty” thing in the United States.
The 13th Amendment to the Constitution declares, “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”
The clause “except as a punishment for crime”, basically says the criminals can we worked like rented mules. Slavery is allowed if you are a criminal.
I’m not a big fan of prison as a form of punishment. Maybe I’m “out there” on this issue.
In my mind there aren’t a lot of people that are so dangerous you must lock up but don’t deserve to die, and most of them are insane.
Were it up to me there would be a LOT more executions, rapists (real ones, no convictions without proof, the word of a loose woman isn’t proof) would be gelded, minor thieves would be given face tattoos and/or forced to wear bells (no hand cutting off, they need to be able to work). Prison (solitary confinement 24 hours a day with a bread water diet) would be reserved for those minor offenders who skipped out or failed to participate in there alternative punishment of community service/repaying their victims/forced drug rehab.
I’d don’t see why Rod Blagovevich shouldn’t be forced to pick up trash along the highway instead of being locked in a room, it’s not like he can sell another Senate seat. And I don’t see why Jarrod Fogle should not be relieved of his genitals instead of being locked in a room. Why is being locked up for a specific period of time the standard punishment?
Had you read the article you would have seen it is about people awaiting trial.
And if YOU had read the article, you would have seen that it has nothing about slavery, despite her hysterical ranting to the contrary.
And yes, Mr. Apologist for the Bleeding Heart Liberals, I did read the story.
Then again, here on the outside...we are all just wage slaves of the federal government.
pOwned!
+1
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