And that is the sort of thing that makes criticism of anything in America always seem so ridiculous.
Some people look at the world, overlook genocide and slavery, dictatorships and hunger, and then decide that America is worst.
In fact the US is not the only country where prisons are run by private companies. Such private prisons are run in the UK by companies like Serco (who coincidentally also do the facilities management in my office). Other countries with profitable prison industries are Canada, South Africa, Australia, and Chile. There is nothing devious about it. None of these countries are (currently) among the worst human rights offenders (unless one believes the "only in America" crowd and simply ignores the rest of the world).
Privately run prisons are better than government-run prisons in Iran (see note 1) or even Turkey (see note 2).
So if you are looking for a morally reprehensable act of a greedy, immoral society, look at government-run prisons in other countries. "Only in America" is a stupid principle to apply when trying to figure out what to change to make the world a better place.
Note 1:
Observers were stunned when Abtahi (above), who served as a vice president for former reformist President Mohammad Khatami, publicly confessed to conspiring against Ahmadinejad.
It wasn't just that his words appeared to be copied verbatim from Iran's hardline press. But the 51-year-old looked terrible.
He had just spent weeks under interrogation and in solitary confinement without access to a lawyer. The mid-ranking cleric appeared gaunt, withdrawn and without his turban.
By most accounts, Evin Prison is an unlikely self-help venue.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2009/08/iran-ahmadinejad-aide-proposes-evin-prison-diet-plan.html
Note 2:
The government is trying to erase the traces of pain and tears of the past as part of the democratization package it announced last month, which aims to answer the long-standing Kurdish question. The Diyarbakır Prison, associated with torture and maltreatment particularly in the post-1980 period, will be no more, according to a statement from Agriculture Minister Mehdi Eker. Eker also announced that the prison grounds, spanning some 45 acres, will be the new home of an educational facility, much needed in the region. “We will be moving the prison, which is not remembered fondly in Diyarbakır's collective psyche and which has left major wounds on our democracy.”
http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/news-184888-101-notorious-diyarbakir-prison-to-become-history.html