The Money Motive and the Prison State

[JBeukema]

Luzerne County (Pa.) Court of Common Pleas judge Mark Ciavarella was convicted last month on racketeering and bribery charges connected to the convictions of more than 2,500 juvenile offenders... For seven years, Ciavarella and his partner in crime, former presiding judge Michael Conahan, helped funnel $1.3 million a year in taxpayer dollars to cronies operating two private jails. They often helped fill the pockets of the operators by tossing alleged youth offenders -- many of whom were first-time offenders charged with misdemeanors such as spraying graffiti, writing prank notes, and truancy -- into those jails, often finding the kids guilty in less than two minutes (and essentially denying the kids the right to lawyers to boot). In exchange for Ciavarella and Conahan's beneficence, the jail operators kicked back more than $2.6 million -- including $997,600 just for shutting down Luzerne County's government-run child jail.

The American Spectator : Juvenile Abuse

 

[BlindBoo]

Help, it's the Police!