Abolish Private Prisons

The organization asserts that incarceration is a fundamental governmental responsibility that cannot be ethically delegated to for-profit entities. This strategy frames prison abolition as a moral imperative, grounded in human dignity and societal values, and critiques private prisons for violating principles of justice and disproportionately affecting vulnerable populations.

Opposes private prisons by highlighting how profit motives lead to the commodification of incarcerated people, distort justice outcomes, incentivize higher incarceration rates, and create systemic bias, equating the practice with modern-day slavery.

The organization employs legal scholarship and constitutional analysis, including the non-delegation doctrine, to argue against the legality and legitimacy of private prisons. This approach asserts that core governmental functions, such as punishment and the use of coercive force, cannot be outsourced to for-profit entities, and that private prisons violate U.S. domestic law and international human rights standards.

The organization argues that the profit motive inherent in private prisons and other for-profit correctional services is fundamentally incompatible with justice and democratic principles. This strategy highlights how financial incentives lead to increased incarceration rates, longer sentences, and the commodification of incarcerated individuals, ultimately undermining the fairness and safety of the criminal justice system.

Seeks to shift public perception by humanizing incarcerated individuals and exposing the moral and financial mechanics of private prisons through media such as podcasts, aiming to build broad public support for abolition.

The organization highlights how the profit motive in private prisons incentivizes increased incarceration rates, longer sentences, and the commodification of incarcerated individuals, thereby corrupting the justice system. This strategy aims to reveal the financial incentives that prioritize corporate profit over fair and safe justice, extending the critique to other for-profit correctional services.

Asserts that incarceration is a fundamental governmental duty that must remain under public control, as delegating liberty-depriving functions to for-profit corporations violates democratic accountability, state authority, and public trust.

Frames opposition to private prisons through international human rights standards, domestic law violations, and rational policy failure, advocating for systemic reform via coalition-building and multidimensional advocacy.

The organization challenges the legality and constitutionality of private prisons by employing legal scholarship, constitutional analysis (including the non-delegation doctrine), and arguments based on U.S. domestic law and international human rights standards. This approach aims to establish that the function of incarceration is an inherent governmental responsibility that cannot be delegated to for-profit entities.

Uses constitutional analysis, legal scholarship, and the non-delegation doctrine to argue that private prisons are unconstitutional because core governmental functions like punishment cannot be delegated to for-profit entities; emphasizes judicial action as a primary strategy for abolition.

Draws on political philosophy (e.g., Rawls, Weber, Locke) to assert that punishment is a sovereign state function and that private involvement in incarceration is morally illegitimate, undermines human dignity, and violates principles of justice and equitable treatment.

The organization argues against private prisons based on fundamental philosophical principles, asserting that punishment is a core governmental function that cannot be ethically outsourced to for-profit entities. This includes drawing on political philosophers like Hobbes, Locke, von Pufendorf, Rawls, and Weber to demonstrate that private prisons undermine the state's legitimate authority, violate principles of justice, and commodify human beings.

The organization aims to foster systemic change by educating the public about the financial incentives and negative impacts of private prisons. This includes using platforms like podcasts to expose economic aspects and promoting empathy to challenge the dehumanization of incarcerated individuals, thereby inspiring action for abolition.

The organization engages in public education and awareness campaigns, including through podcasts, to expose the financial incentives of private prisons and foster empathy for incarcerated individuals. This approach seeks to challenge dehumanization and inspire public action against the private prison system by making the economic realities and human impact accessible to a broader audience.