We have discussed private for profit prisons a few times. I stumbled across some stuff on Louisiana tonight and it was rather shocking.
"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 five times Iran's, 13 times China's and 20 times Germany's."
Not sure how the accurately figure the incarceration of Chinese vs Louisiana. Plus, Iran, and China do not have countless drive by shootings and urban gang violence like they do in say New Orleans. Louisiana does not jail people for posting comments online about the government, or being homosexual. So...to blindly compare is a little off to me. However, it still is rather shocking the numbers.
"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."