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Anita Fifita
Laurie Oberg
English 12
January 14, 2015

Private Prisons
What is the difference between a state prison and a private prison? A
state prison is a facility in which inmate are forcibly confined and denied a
variety of freedom under the authority of the state as a form of punishment.
The most common use of prisons is a criminal justice system. A criminal
justice system is where individuals are charged with or convicted of crimes
that make them confined to a jail or prison until they are brought to a trial to
determine their guilt. When found guilty, they will need to complete the
period of time they are sentenced for.
What are private prisons? A private prison is a place where individuals
are physically confined or interned by a 3rd party that is contracted by a
government agency. They usually have contracts that they agree to with the
government that commit prisoners and then pay them a monthly rate. So
why do we have them? Are they needed? In my opinion, theyre not needed
and are irrelevant because no matter how much crime rates fall, private
prisons will remain 80-100 percent full because occupancy requirements.
Private prisons are a waste of money and time. The nations largest
owner of private prisons is The Corrections Corporation of America. Because
imprisonment in the United States has increased dramatically and more

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people are being sent to prison for longer sentences, state prisons are being
filled and are running out of space. Because state prisons are running out of
space, private prisons are being built and used. If crime rates are going down,
why are the occupancy rates in these private prisons remaining between 80-100%?
In an article about private prisons written by Andy Kroll on MotherJones.com,
it states that the Corrections Corporation of America, made an offer to 48 governors
to buy and operate their state-funded prisons, including a so-called occupancy
requirement demanding the state to keep these privatized prisons at least 90% full
at all times no matter if crime is raising or falling. Occupancy requirements are
common practice within the private prison industry. In an anti-privatization group, a
new report reviewed 62 contracts for private prisons operating around the country.
They found that 41 of those contracts included occupancy requirements demanding
that local or state government keep those facilities between 80-100 percent full
whether crime is rising or falling. That is why private prisons are not needed. They
are irrelevant and one of its main purposes is to keep inmates in prison no matter
the crime rate.

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Works cited page
"Private Prisons." Wikipedia. Web.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_prison>.

"Private Prisons." ACLU. Web. <https://www.aclu.org/prisoners-rights/privateprisons>.

Kroll, Andy. "This Is How Private Prison Companies Make Millions Even When
Crime Rates Fall." Mother Jones. Web.
<http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2013/09/private-prisons-occupancy-quota-ccacrime>.

"Prisons." Wikipedia. Web. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prison>.