Letters from Prison

The United States of America has 5% of the world population, yet 25% of the worlds prison population. 1 out of every 38 Americans have been thru the criminal justice system. For example, 1 in 30 Arizonans, and 1 of 10 Texans. Presently, 1 out of every 154 Arizonans are currently in ADOC, and that number does not include those on probation, parole, or in county jails. It is conservatively estimated that at least 10% are wrongfully convicted. Nearly 100% will be bullied, shamed, or abused in one form or another by a system that provides nearly zero due process for those without large economic resources and, nearly every inmate is incarcerated for a drug related nonviolent crime, and will be released back into society soon.

In Arizona, every Maricopa County Judge, Prosecutor, County Sheriff employee, and public defender holds private prison (Geo Group, Inc, and Core Civic, Inc) securities (stocks and bonds) in their pension fund. The State of Arizona pays these private prisons over $100 per day per incarcerated person held in their facilities, and remarkably, pays nearly $75 per day for each available bed that is not filled. Thus, every judge, prosecutor, public defender, and county employee directly profits each time any person is sentenced to prison.

Core Civic and Geo Group heavily lobby our governor and legislature to increase incarceration rates, and even write proposed criminal justice legislation. And, Congress has made it possible for these companies to be organized as a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT). As a REIT, these pseudo prison operators are able to evade paying corporate tax rates. How sweet is that!

The Arizona Department of Corrections quietly operates a subsidiary called Arizona Correctional Industries (ACI) that offers private for-profit corporations inmate labor contracts at about $12 per person per hour wage. The corporations utilizing ACI inmate labor pay no workman compensation, no FICA, no insurance, or any other labor associated costs, and the inmate pays NO state or federal income taxes or FICA. However, every dime of inmate labor costs will be written off by the private corporation as expenses against any State and Federal taxes they may owe. And that is not all.

Although Arizona statutes strictly regulate telemarketing, for example, ACI companies do not have to abide by these laws intended to protect the public. For example, a telemarketing company operating on the streets must register every employee who has a criminal record and prohibits employment to those whose crimes involve fraud and/or dishonesty. Furthermore, for good reason, Arizona law requires telemarketers to be honest and prohibits the use of fictitious names. Yet, at ACI, every telemarketer is a felon, and each is required to give a fake name. That is correct. The first thing they do is lie to the potential customer about their name so that the fact that they are in prison selling advertising or mortgages cannot be discovered by the potential purchaser.

It is estimated that for each ACI inmate worker, a community family loses a $25 an hour wage job, and the community also loses the economic multiplying affect of this lost wage because the inmate does not spend it in the community.

As we cry about the latest school shooting, and wonder where it all has gone wrong, we need look no further than the men and women WE vote for.