The Heat: US prison reform

The Heat

The Heat: US prison reform

Private prisons are a billion dollar industry in the United States. Federal, state and local authorities contract with corporations to provide incarceration services, and businesses are raking in big profits.

But a recent decision by the U.S. government dealt a blow to the private prison industry. The U.S. Department of Justice has said it will not renew contracts with private prisons or will greatly decrease the scope of its private prison contracts.

CCTV’s America’s Jim Spellman reports.

Follow Jim Spellman on Twitter.

To discuss the latest move in U.S. criminal justice reform:

  • Alex Friedmann, managing editor of Prison Legal News.
  • Christopher Petrella, lecturer at Bates College and a researcher on race and criminal justice.
  • Hilary Shelton, director of the Washington Bureau and Senior Vice President for Policy & Advocacy for the NAACP.
  • Arjun Sethi, adjunct legal professor at Georgetown University and director of law & policy for the Sikh Coalition.