inalasahl
2009-10-30 07:08 pm UTC (link)

I was just coming here to post this! I'm so happy for those people.

In the article I read, it says "Most of the affected youth have already served their time. In Pennsylvania, juvenile criminal records are not automatically expunged when children turn 18, so Thursday's ruling could give thousands of kids a clean slate, said Marsha Levick, deputy director of the Juvenile Law Center in Philadelphia and an attorney for the children."

And um, big shocked face when I read that he locked up someone for shoplifting a $4 bottle of nutmeg.

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	honorh 2009-10-31 01:01 am UTC (link)
	Obviously, he had a spice habit. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	risha 2009-10-31 05:01 pm UTC (link)
	There's a reason why Dune makes so much money. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	inalasahl 2009-11-01 03:08 am UTC (link)
	Heee! (Reply to this)(Parent)

	telegramsam 2009-10-30 07:12 pm UTC (link)
	Isn't the entire penitentary system in the U.S. run by for-profit companies? I was kind of under the impression that the entire "justice" system was run like this. Oh well, I guess it's a start... (Reply to this)(Thread)

	snarkhunter 2009-10-30 07:36 pm UTC (link)
	I thought state and federal prisons were just that: State and Federal. But I honestly don't know. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	fern_on_fen 2009-10-30 07:43 pm UTC (link)
	I believe a lot of juvenile detention centers are privately owned, and that within prisons, there is a certain amount of contract work going on. I'm not sure why this is fucked up, though. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	telegramsam 2009-10-30 07:43 pm UTC (link)
	They're run largely by contractors, from what I've been told. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	telegramsam 2009-10-30 07:52 pm UTC (link)
	((But yes, they are owned by state and federal gov't, but still run by the contractors)) (Reply to this)(Parent)

	fern_on_fen 2009-10-30 07:42 pm UTC (link)
	While its true that some jails are run in part, or in whole, by for-profit companies in America, this is more a case of bribery than of capitalism. Yes, some companies make money from people who go to jail. Yes, some judges send people to jail. But to have a judge essentially make a bonus off of every person she sends to jail? That's sort of beyond the pale. (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

telegramsam
2009-10-30 07:45 pm UTC (link)

More the contractors and politicians than the contractors and judges. I'm fairly convinced the "War on Drugs" is largely profit-driven, and I'm not talking about the drug dealers. People are turning a profit off the prison system and therefor turning a profit off of the justic system and convictions. Even if there aren't always direct bribes involved it's still pretty hinky.

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quantumreality
2009-10-31 01:48 am UTC (link)

About the only good (?) part that I can see in this whole mess is that the prison guards are often unionized and fight like hell to keep state governments from privatizing the prison system. That said, the guards themselves are no great specimens of humanity, given what I've read about their petty and asinine controlling behavior vis-a-vis prisoners.

~~My thoughts on yaoi, let me show you them.~~

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	risha 2009-10-30 08:15 pm UTC (link)
	Of course, that still means that thousands of kids were placed in the detention center for some period of time, and also probably received a hit to their reputations with extended family, schools, colleges, friends, etc. I sense some lawsuits in the state's future. (Reply to this)(Thread)

	adevyish 2009-10-30 10:00 pm UTC (link)
	Class action? (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	honorh 2009-10-31 01:02 am UTC (link)
	Totally. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	fools_game 2009-10-31 12:21 am UTC (link)
	... why do I always read the comments? (Reply to this)(Thread)

	honorh 2009-10-31 01:02 am UTC (link)
	What kind of failury is going on there? (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	fools_game 2009-10-31 01:04 am UTC (link)
	"OMG I can't believe these liberal assholes are letting a bunch of juvenile offenders out onto the streets with no punishment for their crimes this is the breakdown of democracy rah" (Reply to this)(Parent)(Thread)

	honorh 2009-10-31 01:04 am UTC (link)
	So, they didn't actually read the article. I see. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	honorh 2009-10-31 01:04 am UTC (link)
	Personally, I think the judge ought to have to do some time in one of those juvenile prisons. Get a taste of what he put those kids through. (Reply to this)(Thread)

	adevyish 2009-10-31 02:12 am UTC (link)
	And tell the kids exactly why the judge is there. (Reply to this)(Parent)

	mydemand 2009-11-08 04:06 am UTC (link)
	Gah, I went to visit a juvenile centre in the US, and it shook me. How the hell do they expect to make the kids BETTER if they have no privacy, no dignity, no nature even? o_O (Reply to this)(Parent)