Sunday, March 10, 2013

'The Conservative Case Against More Prisons'

Marc Levin and Vikrant Reddy of the Texas Public Policy Foundation have a lengthy feature in The American Conservative with the same title as this post. They conclude that, "After the 2012 election debacle, the consensus among conservatives for moving forward seems quixotic: develop new policy prescriptions but without compromising foundational principles. Criminal justice reform, however, is perfectly suited for the mission. The model for conservative criminal justice—less spending, better results, accountability, and greater reliance on faith, family, and community rather than central government—is really the model conservatives should be applying to all issues."

Relatedly, see a story from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram about the Senate Finance Committee's vote to shutter a private prison unit in Mineral Wells that's one of the largest employers in Palo Pinto county. The opposition, which did not prevail, was explicitly based on a pork-barrel premise. "'It's a simple case of me wanting to fight for people in my district,' said [state Sen. Craig] Estes, whose district includes Parker, Wise and Palo Pinto counties."

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/2013/03/05/4662950/lawmakers-look-to-close-private.html#storylink=cpy

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

seems that it's not just private prisons with corruption
http://www.kcentv.com/story/21415348/29-former-mcconnell-unit-correction-officers-in-custody

Anonymous said...

Back in the 70's communities fought tooth and nail to keep prison units OUT of their towns or their backyards. 37,0000 was the prison pop mid 70s..now tops 150,000 with most towns wanting a unit to bring in jobs. Sad state of affairs the way sentencing has been politicized and successful private money makers.