Profit Over Rehabilitation
If one is to object to capital punishment then it must be inherent or at least implied that all citizens have the right to life. If capital punishment was a highly contested issue today, one might find the largest opposers to such inhumane castigation would be for-profit prisons. For-profit prisons have found worth in the deemed worthless. The Corrections Corporation of America(CCA) is one of the leading firms in the incarceration business. After building a prison in California before being granted a contract by the state, a CCA official was quoted using the old adage, "if you build it, they will come."
During the dark, inexcusable time of slavery in our country, Slave owners would reprimand their "property" to the point of death but were conscious enough not to cross the threshold of death because slaves were viewed as commodities that ceased value without life.(Although they weren't conscious enough to see the vile practice of slavery for what it is.) The practice of capitalism strictly adheres to the pursuit of profit. A life is only as meaningful as the value it generates toward the principles of the capitalist society.
The Emancipation Proclamation changed the "free" market for industry during the Reconstruction period. Many businesses in the South relied heavily on cheap labor and needed a way to supplement themselves. Already familiar with the method of exploiting freedom, it only seems a natural progression to turn towards the part of the population that has been stripped of its liberty.
In the increasing market of privatized prisons, prisoners have become highly sought after commodities. Once a place for rehabilitation, profiteers have found a better way for inmates to contribute to society and have taken drastic measures to insure the supply keeps up with their demand. From local sheriffs/stockholders ensuring high incrimination, lobbying for authoritarian legislation such as "Three Strikes Law" or "Truth in Sentencing" to complete compromise of the judicial system, companies like CCA and the GEO Group have made sure business booms.
The most tragic tale of the corruption is owed to the Mid Atlantic Youth Services Corp. Contracted to run juvenile detention centers, they bribed two judges to hand down preposterous sentences for acts as trivial as trespassing in vacant buildings. The coveted position of being able to build it and if they won't come you can just make them.
Siberia, Sicily, Australia and Alcatraz were once a testament to the cast-off nature of criminals but for-profit prisons have made crime a integral part of society. In negotiations with states they often require guaranteed incarceration rates that keep their offices ninety percent full. They were at the forefront of the controversial immigration law in Arizona in 2010 as well as Prop 6 in California.
In Fyodor Dostoevsky's "Crime and Punishment", the main character Raskolnikov turns to crime out of despair. Saddled with the weight of poverty, Raskolnikov rationalizes the murder of a "worthless" old woman saying she is only one woman that does nothing for society but if he were to assume her wealth he would help many people.
Now our underprivileged are being construed as worthless individually but if the likes of the CCA can corral or "round them up", as they say in the South, they can make them contributing citizens of society even if at the expense of liberty. As long as prisoners represent the opportunity for profit, it must logically be deduced their will be no motivation to rehabilitate inmates or even have constructs in society that keep people from turning to crime. If operation cost are too high for states to manage then maybe the capital punishment discussion should be reopened. "Give me Liberty or give me Death" was once a popular adage itself and as for-profit prisons' role increases, death is appearing the more humane than solitary confinement and a atmosphere of profit margins that can't afford the tools to reform those that are most often failed by society. We are all products of our surroundings and if we can't recognize and change that our society are using us as products then I would suggest buying stock on bars because as long as it is profitable they will continue to build it.
