Next Stop Thunderdome or One More Reason Why Free Markets Won't Save the World

zappasguitar

Well-known member
One can almost hear the chants from the cells now...

"Two men enter...One man leaves...Two men enter...One man leaves"


REBECCA BOONE, Associated Press

BOISE, Idaho - The surveillance video from the overhead cameras shows Hanni Elabed being beaten by a fellow inmate in an Idaho prison, managing to bang on a prison guard station window, pleading for help. Behind the glass, correctional officers look on, but no one intervenes when Elabed is knocked unconscious.

No one steps into the cellblock when the attacker sits down to rest, and no one stops him when he resumes the beating.

Videos of the attack obtained by The Associated Press show officers watching the beating for several minutes. The footage is a key piece of evidence for critics who claim the privately run Idaho Correctional Center uses inmate-on-inmate violence to force prisoners to snitch on their cellmates or risk being moved to extremely violent units.

Lawsuits from inmates contend the company that runs the prison, the Corrections Corporation of America, denies prisoners medical treatment as a way of covering up the assaults. They have dubbed the Idaho lockup "gladiator school" because it is so violent.

The AP initially sought a copy of the videos from state court, but Idaho 4th District Judge Patrick Owen denied that request. The AP decided to publish the videos after a person familiar with the case verified their authenticity.

The videos show at least three guards watching as Elabed was stomped on a dozen times. At no time during the recorded sequence did anyone try to pull away James Haver, a short, slight man.

About two minutes after Haver stopped the beating of his own accord, the metal cellblock door was unlocked. Haver was handcuffed and Elabed was examined for signs of life. He bled inside his skull and would spend three days in a coma.

CCA, the nation's largest private prison company, said it was "highly disappointed and deeply concerned" over AP's decision to release the videos.
 
just to correct your misguidance on this issue. this isn't about free markets or the supposed failure of it, but the overall general public feeling on not giving a damn about imprisoned criminals. this is a failure of the people.
 
I'm not going to justify that attack but is the argument violence doesn't occurr in state run prisons or that state backed prisons are well run?

I mean if we are looking for examples of abuse at state run prisons I don't think that is going to be very difficult to find.
 
just to correct your misguidance on this issue. this isn't about free markets or the supposed failure of it, but the overall general public feeling on not giving a damn about imprisoned criminals. this is a failure of the people.

This is taking place in a privately run facility that profit-driven greedheads have convinced many in the BOP, a division of the DOJ, can run the corrections industry better than the Government.
 
This is taking place in a privately run facility that profit-driven greedheads have convinced many in the BOP, a division of the DOJ, can run the corrections industry better than the Government.

that privately run facility would be in front of either the idaho state legislature or US congress answering some very difficult questions if this issue were that important to the people directly. so no, this isn't the fault of the free market, this failure and blame lies squarely with the apathy of the people who don't care about basic human rights, inmate or not.
 
wtf does this have to do with free markets?

imo, this is government failure...some duties and services should not be run in the private sector, and prisons are one of those. that said, it is a naive at best and dishonest at worst to act like this doesn't happen in state or federal run prisons...

if you want to have an honest discussion about it, start with prison reform and look to california as the red headed step child
 
that privately run facility would be in front of either the idaho state legislature or US congress answering some very difficult questions if this issue were that important to the people directly. so no, this isn't the fault of the free market, this failure and blame lies squarely with the apathy of the people who don't care about basic human rights, inmate or not.

If a few correctional officers had gotten killed, it would've been OK, right?
 
wtf does this have to do with free markets?

imo, this is government failure...some duties and services should not be run in the private sector, and prisons are one of those. that said, it is a naive at best and dishonest at worst to act like this doesn't happen in state or federal run prisons...

if you want to have an honest discussion about it, start with prison reform and look to california as the red headed step child

The failure was allowing those in Congress who care more about corporate interests than they do human dignity to turn much of our corrections industry over to private, profit-driven corporations.

The failure was brought about by those whose lust for profit is more important than seeing their fellow human beings treated hmanely.
 
The failure was allowing those in Congress who care more about corporate interests than they do human dignity to turn much of our corrections industry over to private, profit-driven corporations.

The failure was brought about by those whose lust for profit is more important than seeing their fellow human beings treated hmanely.

it actually has nothing to do with corporate interests, the states actually believe they are saving money by having private corps run the prisons...

outsourcing a fundamental government system is stupid beyond belief...whats next...private police officers?
 
If a few correctional officers had gotten killed, it would've been OK, right?

case after case in the supreme court, it has been stated time and again that the ONLY time a person has the RIGHT to police protection as an individual is when they are in custody. if a corrections officer is killed doing his duty, award him the highest honor, but it's totally immoral to stand around and not do your job using 'safety' as your defense.
 
The failure was allowing those in Congress who care more about corporate interests than they do human dignity to turn much of our corrections industry over to private, profit-driven corporations.

The failure was brought about by those whose lust for profit is more important than seeing their fellow human beings treated hmanely.

congress is largely to blame, yes, for caving in to big business special interests and not retaining oversight and accountability, but this still doesn't show free market failure.
 
The failure was allowing those in Congress who care more about corporate interests than they do human dignity to turn much of our corrections industry over to private, profit-driven corporations.

The failure was brought about by those whose lust for profit is more important than seeing their fellow human beings treated hmanely.

Do you think prisoners are being treated humanely in our current jail cells?

And I'm not sure the role Congress plays but in California the court ordered that there were like 60k more prisoners than beds so many criminals are being shipped to other states including some privately run prisons. That was the Governor's call.
 
case after case in the supreme court, it has been stated time and again that the ONLY time a person has the RIGHT to police protection as an individual is when they are in custody. if a corrections officer is killed doing his duty, award him the highest honor, but it's totally immoral to stand around and not do your job using 'safety' as your defense.

I must have missed the portion of the OP containing the officer's claims that they failed to stop the beating because they feared for their own safety.

Can you point it out?
 
I must have missed the portion of the OP containing the officer's claims that they failed to stop the beating because they feared for their own safety.

Can you point it out?

whether they feared for their own safety or just didn't care enough about the inmates safety is irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. They probably know that the majority of the sheep in this country care very little for the welfare of an inmate, so they are probably quite comfortable in their non-accountability.
 
congress is largely to blame, yes, for caving in to big business special interests and not retaining oversight and accountability, but this still doesn't show free market failure.

It also doesn't show private industry is the great savior of all that is.

I'd like some of the supposed "enumerated powers" champions to show me how private industry has done a better job than the Government.
 
whether they feared for their own safety or just didn't care enough about the inmates safety is irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. They probably know that the majority of the sheep in this country care very little for the welfare of an inmate, so they are probably quite comfortable in their non-accountability.

So there's nothing wrong with my eyesight. There was no mention of an excuse being given by the corporate rent-a-guards in the OP.

You "intuited" the foundation for the claims you made...I suppose.

How perceptive you are.
 
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