The Theoretical Proposition to Promote and Motivate Prison Labour in Ghana

The ultimate purpose of the prison industry over the years was for the incarceration of criminals to serve their custodial sentence, which was later fused with rehabilitation programs to reform criminals to become better citizens after being released from custodial sentences. However, the outcome of the reformation of convicts after released from the prison has been a sad story than expected success cases. Hence, the theoretical proposition of the paper with respect to the prison industry of Ghana is to resolve recidivism, promote inmates’ skill upgrade and labour reformation programs to become socio-economic beneficial during and after a custodial sentence.

Cosponsoring and Cashing In: US House Members’ Support for Punitive Immigration Policy and Financial Payoffs from the Private Prison Industry

The private prison industry is a multi-million-dollar industry that has increasingly profited from the detention of undocumented immigrants. As a government contractor, therefore, the industry has a natural interest in government decision making, including legislation that can affect its expansion into immigrant detention. In this article, we examine the relationship between campaign donations made on behalf of the private prison industry and an untested form of position taking—bill cosponsorship—in the US House of Representatives. We hypothesize the private prison industry will reward House members for taking positions that benefit the industry. We also hypothesize the private prison industry will also reward House members who incur greater political risk by taking positions out of sync with the party. To test our hypotheses, we focus on punitive immigration legislation that has the potential to increase the supply of immigrant detainees over the course of eight years. We find support for our second hypothesis, that private prison companies are more likely to reward House Democrats who cosponsor punitive immigration policies even after accounting for possible endogeneity. The findings have important implications regarding the relationship between House members and private interests.

Carceral Containments

This chapter examines women’s experience in the United States, particularly in immigration detention. It considers the expansion of immigration into private, for-profit prison industry and outlines the multiple violences and human rights violations that the detention of refugees imply.

Private Prisons and the Shift in Marketplace From the War on Drugs to the War on Terror

This paper outlines the emergence of a new marketplace in the United States, immigration detention, especially after September 11th. This phenomenon is not limited to the United States, but is also observable in other countries as the result of the globalized economy. This paper first explains how the private prison industry adapted from shaping harsh drug law sentencing during the War on Drugs to now sponsoring legislative bills that target immigrants, the new “cash crop” for the private prison industry. Because of the securitization of immigration governance, politics of fear are easily used to justify and build public support for a tough stance on immigration. The end result is that immigrant detention is a highly lucrative and record-breaking profitable enterprise for private prison corporations, with little accountability in its treatment of immigrants and with more and more power in sponsoring and shaping legislation beneficial to their bottom line. Implications now that Trump, who ran a very xenophobic presidential campaign especially hostile to Mexicans and Muslims, are discussed.

Private Prisons and the Shift in Marketplace From the War on Drugs to the War on Terror

This paper outlines the emergence of a new marketplace in the United States, immigration detention, especially after September 11th. This phenomenon is not limited to the United States, but is also observable in other countries as the result of the globalized economy. This paper first explains how the private prison industry adapted from shaping harsh drug law sentencing during the War on Drugs to now sponsoring legislative bills that target immigrants, the new “cash crop” for the private prison industry. Because of the securitization of immigration governance, politics of fear are easily used to justify and build public support for a tough stance on immigration. The end result is that immigrant detention is a highly lucrative and record-breaking profitable enterprise for private prison corporations, with little accountability in its treatment of immigrants and with more and more power in sponsoring and shaping legislation beneficial to their bottom line. Implications now that Trump, who ran a very xenophobic presidential campaign especially hostile to Mexicans and Muslims, are discussed.

Employment and Vocation Programs in Prison

Historically, work has played an important role in managing correctional populations and providing a means to reduce prisoner idleness. As correctional ideologies have shifted over time, the concept of working while incarcerated has taken on more of a rehabilitative approach. Several policies and correctional initiatives have been developed to integrate prison industry and employment services into correctional systems in an effort to address the poor employment histories and low job-related skills of offenders. Evaluations of these programs demonstrate that participation in prison industry and employment services can increase job prospects and lower the chances of recidivism. The effectiveness of prison-based employment programs vary, however, and is dependent upon the key components incorporated into their design. Despite the differences between programs, employment services offered in prison seem to be an effective approach to addressing employment deficits among offenders.