PS on Private Prisons Post

Last week as you may have read the Justice Department issued a memo stating that contracts with private prisons will be phased out. Federal prisons are a small percentage of the whole prison system, which is mainly under the jurisdiction of the states. But federal prisons do manage detention camps for illegal immigrants, camps that have come under much criticism for their horrendous conditions. So while the DOJ directive is a necessary first step, and is to be hailed, its impact is small, certainly not immediate, and the need for getting rid of private prisons all the more relevant.