Privately owned and operated prisons are such a horrible idea for America because they incentivize the perpetuation of the cycle of crime. Why would a corporate facility ever want to have their cells empty? It’s more than harvesting organs: It’s the harvesting of whole bodies and souls. The government should run all our penitentiaries, it should be a burden on us all if they are really full, and we should work to change that dynamic. The opening of “Louisiana Is the World’s Prison Capital,” Cindy Chang’s excellent and heartbreaking New Orleans Times-Picayune piece:

“Louisiana is the world’s prison capital. The state imprisons more of its people, per head, than any of its U.S. counterparts. First among Americans means first in the world. Louisiana’s incarceration rate is nearly triple Iran’s, seven times China’s and 10 times Germany’s.

The hidden engine behind the state’s well-oiled prison machine is cold, hard cash. A majority of Louisiana inmates are housed in for-profit facilities, which must be supplied with a constant influx of human beings or a $182 million industry will go bankrupt.Several homegrown private prison companies command a slice of the market. But in a uniquely Louisiana twist, most prison entrepreneurs are rural sheriffs, who hold tremendous sway in remote parishes like Madison, Avoyelles, East Carroll and Concordia. A good portion of Louisiana law enforcement is financed with dollars legally skimmed off the top of prison operations.

If the inmate count dips, sheriffs bleed money. Their constituents lose jobs. The prison lobby ensures this does not happen by thwarting nearly every reform that could result in fewer people behind bars.” (Thanks Browser.)