Case Study: Corrections Corporation Of America

An organization known as ALEC, American Legislative Exchange Council, is a group that is known for the inclusion of corporations into the drafting of laws. Laws such as “Three strikes and you’re out” and “Mandatory minimum sentence” have greatly affected the American prison system. By creating these laws, prisons stay full for longer. This is beneficial to many corporations involved in ALEC, like the CCA, because it profits off of the success of their private prisons. This idea messes up the prison system because it encourages prisons to bring in more inmates and keep the prisons full. In fact, the prison labor industry has got so large that it is too late to try and stop it because there are so many businesses that depend on the cheap labor.

Crime rates are down in America, yet there is an unproportionately large number of Americans incarcerated. This paper will delve into and examine this problem and how it is closely linked to private prisons and the issues surrounding them. While private prisons claim to be cost effective and well-run, evidence has shown that these profit-driven companies ignore ethical consequences by purposefully lengthening prisoners’ sentences, target certain groups for incarceration and maintain despicable living standards for the prisoners; ultimately, these prisons have caused more harm than good for the state.

While it is apparent why companies involved in the prison industry would support or even push for such a law, they are not the sole cause of the making of this law. There are three main groups outside the prison industry who, due to knowledgeable beneficiary intentions or misinformation, strengthen the strict law against crime and cause the overpopulation and long sentencing that in turn make the prison industry profitable. One of the ulterior motivated

The U.S. Supreme Court has acknowledged the growing distress, deeming California’s state prisons unconstitutionally crowded. In 2009, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled out that California’s 33 state prisons have become too overcrowded to the point where there are no sufficient medical and mental health care available (Realignment AB 109, 2013). The U.S. Supreme Court determined that the 33 state prisons are violating constitutional exclusions, under the Eighth Amendment, against unfamiliar punishment and brutality, says the American Legislative Exchange Council, an American organization producing model policies for state legislators (ALEC, 2010).

Since 1984, the California Penal System has been forced to undergo drastic changes resulting from increased legislation aimed at increasing the severity of retribution to offenders leading to an exponentially increasing prison population. In the 132 years between 1852 and 1984, the state of California built twelve prisons, but has since supplemented the prison system with 21 new facilities. In 1977, the California Department of Corrections was responsible for 19,600 inmates. California’s inmate population now stands at 160,655, an increase of close to 800%.

His policies caused the growth of a massive corrections system that currently houses an estimated 2.2 million inmates. Since the 1970’s federal and state correction agencies have consistently struggled to meet the increased demands brought on by the US Department of Justice and strict drug laws; this in turn created the opportunity for Corrections Corporation of America to form, the largest private prison network in the United States (Godard, T 2015). With the precedent it set with the first private detention center, CCA changed the face of US corrections for good. The private sector became the quick fix to the problem of overcrowded and understaffed public prisons.

To understand the article you must understand what private prisons are and why they exist. Private prisons are a government effort to save money by outsourcing control of detention facilities to corporations. The biggest and most influential corporation is the Corrections Corporation of America aka the CCA. This idea of outsourcing prisons is becoming very common. Australia, Europe and the United States all use these prisons in efforts to save money. “It

Similarly, since the 1980s there has been the initiation of privatization of prisons, in the United States. Today, for-profit companies operate 264 correctional facilities, housing almost 99,000 inmates (Glans, 2011). The two largest are Correction Corporations of America (CCA) and the GEO Group, which together combined for a capacity of 129,000 prisoners. According to Think progress, in 2010 Corrections Corporation of America and GEO Group made over 2.9 billion in revenue (Sanchez, 2011). Equally important, these companies exert influence on public policy, in order to fashion the marketplace environment (i.e. more prisoners/African American males) required to increase its businesses. This is done through lobbying politicians, direct campaign contributions, and political networking.

Tennessee’s probation and parole agencies fall under Tennessee’s Department of Corrections (TDOC), which is overseen by its current commissioner, Tony C. Parker (“Department Overview”, n.d.). One of the first to be fully accredited through the American Correctional Association (ACA), this department is recognized as a top tier program that others strive to be (“Department Overview”, n.d.).

From its early inception as a necessary aspect of modern society to its broken state that can be seen today, the American penal system has changed radically in recent history from an institution that performed the duty of safeguarding the public from those too dangerous to be left unsupervised to a business model concerned more with generating a profit for shareholders. With a 500% increase in inmates that is rivalled by no other country, the United States leads the world in imprisoning a fast-growing portion of its population. It is without a doubt that adverse changes in policy regarding imprisonment along with the formation and privatization of the prison industrial complex contributes substantially to the state of mass incarceration in the United States and will continue to shape its future for the years to come.

The United States has been staring down a crisis to our nation for decades; the overpopulation of inmates housed in our prisons. Our nation has five percent of world population yet houses twenty five percent of the world’s inmates (Liptak, 2008). As states turn to private prisons for as a quick solution to their ever expanding inmate population they are sponsoring the very originations that are responsible for creating overcrowding to begin with. Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) – which is the largest private prison company in the United States -- has lobbied away 17.5 million dollars in the last 10 years; 17.5 million taxpayer dollars spent on making immigration laws and drug laws stricter (Lee, 2012). CCA is a public traded stock with emphasis as any business would have on their profit. Private prisons seems like a quick solution for states that are running out of space and focused on saving money up front seems yet they are not the answer when their corporations are

CCA has spent $17.4 million on lobbying in the past 10 years as well as an additional $1.9 million in political contributions in that last 9 years. (Lee, 2012) Marco Rubio is a politician who has received contributions from GEO Corporation – yet another private prison corporation -- in the recent years. This year Rubio announced his bid for President. With the contributions coming into Rubio he has pushed for stricter immigration laws which in turn lock up more non-violent offenders who would qualify to be housed at a private prison facility. (Cohen, 2015) Private prisons only house inmates who are considered to be low risk. To be considered low risk inmates’ crimes either has to be non-violent or they have had to display exceptional behavior over the time of their sentence. Senate Bill 1070 in Arizona, which requires police to determine the immigration status of a person who is lawfully stopped if there is reason that the individual is an illegal alien, was supported by politicians who were supported financially by private prisons. Another controversial law that received the same financial support is California’s three strikes law. These bills help support the 100% occupancy rate mandated by private prisons in their contracts with some states. (Cohen,

The Prison incarceration rate has raised dramatically over the course of the last four decades. Some will say it’s due to an increase in property crimes, violence, the war on drugs, and over all criminal behavior. There are those who would say it’s not that at all, but a shifting with in our legal system to privatization of our prison systems. The question that is asked, “Should the corrections industry be for profit?” The answer is skewed with many opinions, and variable facts. Everyone involved has a certain agenda, and to support those

Currently, many prisons are beginning to be run by private corporations. If a company is running a prison then they need prisoners to stay in business. Around 1 in every 107 Americans is currently being housed in a prison. The United States has about 5 percent of the world’s population yet 25 percent of its prisoners(ACA, 2008). This is the easiest way to maintain a large prison population is by maintaining the current drug war. The largest private prison company in the United States is Corrections Corp. of America(ACA, 2008). In the last twenty years, CCA has donated nearly $5 million dollars to certain political

The United States has an incarceration problem that personifies issues throughout the entire criminal justice system. "The United States, with just 5 percent of the world 's population, currently holds 25 percent of the world 's prisoners" (Khalek). This issue runs deeper than just incarceration; it permeates every level of the criminal justice system, from incarceration to probation. Many states have turned to private institutions in an attempt shed operating costs, while also increasing effectiveness throughout the criminal justice system. These acts can include anything from providing treatment programs to full blown management of the entire prison system. Overcrowding at prisons and the rising costs associated with them has led many states to turn to some form of privatization within the criminal justice system. However, privatizing the entire correction system would not be beneficial for the state, from both an ethical and a public policy standpoint.