Bernie Sanders Cheers DOJ’s Landmark Ending Of Federal Use Of Private Prisons

Last updated on September 25th, 2023 at 02:04 pm

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Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is cheering the Justice Department’s decision to begin the phase out of using private prisons to house federal inmates.

In a statement, Sen. Sanders reacted to the announcement by the Justice Department:

Our criminal justice system is broken and in need of major reforms. The Justice Department’s plan to end its use of private prisons is an important step in the right direction. It is exactly what I campaigned on as a candidate for president.

It is an international embarrassment that we put more people behind bars than any other country on earth. Due in large part to private prisons, incarceration has been a source of major profits to private corporations. Study after study after study has shown private prisons are not cheaper, they are not safer, and they do not provide better outcomes for either the prisoners or the state.

We have got to end the private prison racket in America as quickly as possible. Our focus should be on keeping people out of jail and making sure they stay out when they are released. This means funding jobs and education not more jails and incarceration.

Today’s announcement is the beginning of the end for the two-decade old conservative experiment in federal prison privatization. The main conservative argument for the privatization of prisons has been that they save money, but as Sen. Sanders pointed out studies have shown that this argument is based more conservative privatization ideology, not fiscal facts.

Some excellent investigative journalism by Mother Jones has blown the lid off of the for-profit prison system.

A key argument of Bernie Sanders‘ presidential campaign was that it is morally wrong for corporations to be profiting off of putting people in prison. A for profit motive has corrupted and made the prison system more dangerous for inmates.

While ending the federal use of private prisons doesn’t solve the problem, the DOJ’s decision is a landmark shift away from decades of failed conservative privatization ideology.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association