President signs Executive Order to phase out private prisons
The new administration has been clear that they oppose the use of private prisons. We do to. Any industry that profits on the incarceration and lobbies for longer prison sentences and harsher penalties as a basis for increasing profitability, is sick.
Within one week of taking office, President Biden has signed an Executive Order to “Reform the Incarceration System”, which includes phasing out the use of private prisons to confine the currently 2 million people who are confined in federal prisons and detention centers.
Perhaps the most exciting language contained in the Executive Order was not the elimination of private prisons, but these statements,
- “There is broad consensus that our current system of mass incarceration imposes significant costs and hardships on our society and communities and does not make us safer.”
- “We must ensure that our Nation’s incarceration and correctional systems are prioritizing rehabilitation and redemption.”
- “Incarcerated individuals should be given a fair chance to fully reintegrate into their communities, including by participating in programming tailored to earning a good living, securing affordable housing, and participating in our democracy as our fellow citizens.”
Lets hope this is just the beginning.
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The Executive Order does not exclude sex offenders.
I have worked with dozens of people who did time in a private facility for a Federal sex offense. It’s not like the BOP is going to keep their contract facilities open just to house sex offenders. No such exception is made in the Executive Order.
When those contracts expire, no one will be designated to those facilities anymore.
Judging from the comments below, a number of FAC members would actually be OK with Biden allowing such facilities to continue to operate. This is where we may have to agree to disagree.
All private prisons, at both federal and state levels, must close. Period. End of discussion.
Smoke and mirrors. This is not the reform we are looking for, go about your business. Haven’t we learned by now that any “rehabilitation and redemption” ALWAYS excludes “sex offenders”? Don’t want to shatter any hopes, but let’s keep it real!
JZ
That is because a large majority of people believe “EVERYONE” can be reformed but us. Their motto is “Once a sex offender, Always a sex offender”.
Many believe we are ticking time bombs holding in our inner desires just waiting for the right moment or opportunity to pounce on our next victim.
What is odd though, many like myself and others, who never had a charge before or since. My Offense was 1991. Believe me, if I wanted to offend, I had plenty of opportunities, but that is not who I am. Getting law makers to believe that is another story.
@CherokeeJack:
That misconception about once a sex offender, always a sex offender is John Robert’s fault. If we could only convince his somehow that what he read from a debunked Psychology Today article was a false dichotomy that translated into bad policies and precedents…
That’s when we hold them accountable for their paradoxical thinking.
I seek to remind all of those in positions of political influence when their statements contradict their actions. Don’t let them sit comfortably in their hypocrisy.
To : Anonymous
That is one of the many reasons they want to stop anyone with a sex offense from ever voting. I do not know the exact number of people in Florida with a sex offense in their past. I do however, know some ballot issues have been won or lost by a mere margin of a few votes.
If we were allowed to vote, imagine what we could do. That is also why they found loopholes when non sex offender ex-felons were granted voting rights. All of a sudden stipulations of fines and court costs came up to block them from doing so.
If I’m not mistaken, the Obama administration attempted to do this as well. The targeted prisons were predominantly being used as indefinite detention centers for unlawful immigrants, with and without criminal convictions within the United States.
The Administration that came afterwards reversed that.
While all of this sounds great in speeches and on paper, all too often the actions come up woefully short. May I recommend grabbing some popcorn and watch how this unfolds as opposed to arguing amongst ourselves?
This “might” set a viable precedent for use in the future.
I can not find the article with the percentage, but few prisons are run privately in total. This doesn’t touch Immigration detention centers, which are big on private prisons. Also government “run” prisons out source a lot of services. Government run prisons still provide cheap labor. Current contracts are honored and some run past his term, so they can be reversed. And by their own admission these private prison companies note they are not concerned because they are into halfway houses and monitoring services etc..
Having said that I support this, but will take into consideration it is mostly a “feel good” order so he can say…see what I did. I just hope the general public who cares about these issues see this for what it is and continue to push for true reform.
Sex offenders are held in ALL BOP facilities, public and private. They do not have to have a Sex Offender Management Program.
Have to be totally honest here i thought this guy was going to be a total train wreck and he still may be but this order was definitely a step in the right direction for us. there should be 0 for profit prisons in the United states.