PRIVATE PRISONS TURN PROFIT CARING FOR THE SICK

Kind Madam/Sir:

Today’s headline blares, “Private prisons turn profit caring for the
sick.” The article quotes a deputy corrections director who was
enthusiastic about the prison medical center which will provide
services for $460/day per prisoner (vs. $2,000/day in a regular
hospital.) “It was wonderful..... security loved it, and I loved
it.”

This is in response to “3 strikes-you’re out”, and mandatory
minimum sentences (mostly for non-violent drug related offenses)
which start to fill our overloaded prisons with aging, sick inmates.

I, for one, hate to see my share of taxes paying toward even the
$460/day bargain-basement rate to warehouse a sick, non-violent offender.

Doesn’t it strike anyone else as bizarre that we even contemplate this
senseless, costly prison option for non-violent offenders rather than
holding meaningful national dialog about alternatives such as house
arrest, community service or treatment?

It is especially galling to realize that there is a huge private
prison industry profiteering off of the burgeoning incarceration rates.

Ah, well, another triumph for good old American private
enterprise!!

Sincerely,

David L. Edwards, M.D.
2715 Schirm Loop, N.W.
Olympia, WA.,98502