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Apples-to-Fish: Public and Private Prison Cost Comparisons
Loaded on Oct. 3, 2016
by Alex Friedmann
published in Prison Legal News
October, 2016, page 1
Filed under:
Private Prisons,
Private Contractors,
Statistics/Trends,
Cost of Prison Systems,
PLN related.
Location:
United States of America.
by Alex Friedmann*
It sounds like such a simple question: do private prisons save money? The answer, however, is dependent on a number of factors – including how “saving money” is defined.
Consider that in 2013, the nation’s largest for-profit prison company, Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), …
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More from this issue:
- Apples-to-Fish: Public and Private Prison Cost Comparisons, by Alex Friedmann
- U.S. Department of Justice Finds Fault with Privatized Federal Prisons, by Christopher Zoukis
- Alabama Public Service Commission Enacts Prison, Jail Phone Reforms, by David Reutter
- Supreme Court: Sixth Amendment Prevents Pretrial Seizure of Untainted Assets, by Derek Gilna
- New York Prisoner Exonerated after Serving 25 Years
- Oregon Federal Court Denies Motion to Dismiss Release Debit Card Suit, by Derek Gilna
- DOJ Gives $179.7 Million to State Law Enforcement in FY 2016 Grant Funding, by Derek Gilna
- Studies Suggest Parental Incarceration is More Damaging to Children than Death of a Parent, by Christopher Zoukis
- Book Review: The Habeas Citebook: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel (2nd Edition), by Christopher Zoukis
- CCA Prison Not Reporting Valley Fever Cases among Hawaii Prisoners
- Merger of Prisoner Transport Companies Delayed after Objections Filed, by Derek Gilna
- Oregon Post-conviction Judgment Violates State Law, by Mark Wilson
- Sixth Circuit Vacates Denial of Qualified Immunity; Each Defendant’s Conduct Must be Individually Evaluated, by Mark Wilson
- U.S. Office of Special Counsel Assists BOP Whistleblowers, by Derek Gilna
- Chicago Police Detective Accused of Brutality Used Similar Techniques at Guantanamo, by Derek Gilna
- Conservatives Try to Co-opt Criminal Justice Reform, by Matthew Clarke
- There is Talk of Prison Reform, but for the 150,000 People in Prison for Life, There is No Reform on the Horizon
- Presidential Candidates’ Current and Past Positions on Criminal Justice Issues, by Joe Watson
- First Unconditional Release from Minnesota’s Sex Offender Program
- Federal Court Finally Ends Oversight at Fulton County Jail, by David Reutter
- Corporations, Colleges and Cities Dump Private Prison Stock, by Joe Watson
- Eleventh Circuit Upholds Alabama DOC Short Hair Policy Following Remand from Supreme Court
- Federal Judge Clears Way for Civil Rights Suit in Oklahoma Jail Death
- Seventh Circuit: Jailhouse Lawyer’s Help No Reason to Deny Appointment of Counsel, by Gary Hunter
- Second Chance Pell Pilot Program Will Bring College to 12,000 Prisoners
- Class-action Suit Filed Against GEO Group for Violation of Job Applicants’ Rights
- Judge Orders End to Recording of Attorney-Client Meetings at CCA’s Leavenworth Detention Center, by Derek Gilna
- South Carolina Sheriff Fires Whistleblower Instead of Jailer Who Assaulted Prisoner, by Matthew Clarke
- Third Circuit Reverses Summary Judgment in Restraint Chair Case, by Mark Wilson
- Exonerated Prisoner Appointed to Connecticut’s Parole Board, by Christopher Zoukis
- Los Angeles County Settles Jail Suicide Suit for $1.6 Million
- Federal Civil Procedure Rule 15 is Substantive, Not Chronological in Application
- Drastic Sentence Reduction for Mentally Ill Former Tamms Prisoner, by Matthew Clarke
- Private Medical Contractors in Kentucky Not Entitled to Qualified Immunity
- Wisconsin: Wrongfully Convicted Former Prisoner Receives $6.5 Million
- Ninth Circuit: Congress Can Criminalize Federal Sex Crimes Committed in State Facilities, by Mark Wilson
- Illinois: Exonerated Prisoner Calls $80,000 Award a Travesty, Retrial Ordered, by Gary Hunter
- New Orleans Sheriff Ends Oversight of Electronic Monitoring Program, by David Reutter
- Wisconsin Prison Enters into Consent Decree to Correct Tainted Water, by Derek Gilna
- Oregon Habeas Cognizable to Challenge Confinement in Florida and Colorado under Interstate Compact
- Massachusetts’ Anti-shackling Law Limits Restraints on Pregnant Prisoners but Problems Persist, by Joe Watson
- GEO Group Still Invests in Florida Politics
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- News in Brief
More from Alex Friedmann:
- A Primer on Prisoners’ Constitutional Rights, Nov. 14, 2016
- Apples-to-Fish: Public and Private Prison Cost Comparisons, Oct. 3, 2016
- Securus Faces Lawsuit Over Recorded Attorney Calls, Aug. 2, 2016
- PLN Challenges Postcard-only Policy at Jail in Knoxville, TN, Oct. 26, 2015
- Who Owns Private Prison Stock?, July 31, 2015
- 32 Deaths at CCA-operated Immigration Detention Facilities Include at Least 7 Suicides, July 7, 2015
- How the Courts View ACA Accreditation, Oct. 10, 2014
- Recidivism Performance Measures for Private Halfway Houses in Pennsylvania, Sept. 19, 2014
- Lowering Recidivism through Family Communication, April 15, 2014
- Best Criminal Defense Pleading Ever!, Nov. 15, 2013
More from these topics:
- Missouri Bill Increases Mandatory Minimums, Expands Prosecutors’ Role in Juvenile Court, July 1, 2026. Cost of Prison Systems, Prosecutors, State Legislation, Juvenile Offenses/Offenders, Mandatory Minimum Sentence.
- $3.25 Million Verdict in New York Against Jail Medical Profiteer Armor Health, July 1, 2026. Private Prisons, Misconduct/Corruption, Medical, Conditions of Confinement, Civil Rights Actions or Offenses/Bivens Actions.
- Detainee Deaths Went Unreported at Dallas County Jail, July 1, 2026. Jail Misconduct, Statistics/Trends, Databases, Public Records.
- Prisoners’ Risk of Death In Custody More than Doubles in Solitary Confinement, July 1, 2026. Statistics/Trends, Control Units/SHU/Solitary Confinement, Confinement in Segregated Housing, Administrative Detention/Segregation.
- Wisconsin State Prison Population Approaches Record High, July 1, 2026. Statistics/Trends, Overcrowding, Staffing, Pardons/Clemency, Reduction of Prison Population.
- Study Shows That Suicide Intervention During and After Incarceration Reduces Suicide Attempts by 55%, June 1, 2026. Statistics/Trends, Suicides, Health care.
- $5 Million Paid by Colorado County for Jail Detainee’s “Gruesome” Death from Untreated Ulcer; Claims Proceeding Against Southern Health Partners, June 1, 2026. Private Prisons, Systemic Medical Neglect, Private Contractors, Failure to Treat, 42 U.S. Code § 1983, civil action for deprivation of rights.
- Texas Executes 600th Prisoner Since Reinstating Death Penalty in 1976, June 1, 2026. Racial Discrimination, Statistics/Trends, Death Penalty, Mental Retardation/Intellectual Disability.
- Fourth Circuit Revives Detainee’s Suit Alleging Monell and 14th Amendment Deliberate Indifference Claims, June 1, 2026. Medication, Private Contractors, Failure to Treat, Monell Liability, Deliberate Indifference.
- Number of Prisoners Awaiting Transfer from Jail Surging in Indiana, June 1, 2026. Transfers, Statistics/Trends, Cost of Prison Systems, Overcrowding, Jail Specific.

