Private Prison Mental Health Research Paper

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Private prisons hold almost 10% of the United States prison population. This 10% suffers extensively from mental health issues stemming from the terrible conditions in these facilities. The prison system in its entirety affects the mental health of inmates for a myriad of reasons, these reasons however are noticeably more present in private facilities. This leads to widespread mental illness in inmates in private facilities. According to research, private prisons have dangerous conditions caused by the corporations cutting corners. This drop in quality affects all facets of the facility, from cleaning to correctional staff. Private prisons affect almost 10% of the United States incarcerated population. That may not seem like a large number, …show more content…
One of the factors of mental health in prisons is routine exposure to violence, which from this data is twice as often as in public prisons. An article from Criminal Justice Programs, which draws from many different universities, claims that “Research has shown that private prisons will usually choose less violent offenders because serious offenders require an increase in the amount of required security” (Pros and Cons of Private Prisons). If private prisons are choosing non-violent offenders due to lower security costs, it would be reasonable if there were lower rates of assaults. The fact that there are so many assaults in private prisons on offenders, mostly without a history of violence, paints a clear picture of how private prisons operate. The unnecessary exposure to violence on non-violent offenders is damaging to the mental health of their prisoners and it is nearly entirely the fault of the private facilities. There are various economic benefits from the privatized system and the competition drives quality up, however this is not necessarily true. Erwin A. Blackstone, an economics professor from Temple University, argues “These benefits emanate from two …show more content…
Private prisons have myriad economic benefits for the state and national governments they contract with. Private prisons will regulate their own prices and quality through competition. Overall, it appears to be a beneficial deal for all involved parties. However, Sydney Young reports “At one Texas jail privately operated by La Salle Corrections, guards pepper-sprayed and suffocated a man on Christmas Eve. The temporary guards who killed him had not been required to complete the 96 hours of training required of permanent guards before they started working in the prison” (Young). In order to save costs, La Salle Corrections cut corners and lowered the quality of their services. This runs counterpoint to the argument that privatized prisons competition will drive quality up. In actual practice, they drive quality down to increase profit. Generalizing the entire industry, however, is not fair, but there are countless stories of many different companies in similar
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