The price rise hit prisoners seeking bottled water as temperatures eclipse the 100 degree mark in unairconditioned facilities. The state vendor asked to raise the price and two state agencies signed off.
Read the article. They’re paying for bottled water. They have access to regular tap water, but some people are saying the tap water in these very old prisons isn’t fit for drinking.
I don’t think the article specifically says, but most prisons in the U.S. are privately owned. I can only imagine that’s more the case in Texas than it is the nation as a whole.
There’s an excessive perception that the US prison system is privately run. As terrible as the concept is, it is not as widespread as people think… however the US prison population is gigantic, so it still isn’t very small.
“While the United States represents about 4.2 percent of the world’s population, it houses around 20 percent of the world’s prisoners.”
Read the article. They’re paying for bottled water. They have access to regular tap water, but some people are saying the tap water in these very old prisons isn’t fit for drinking.
Are these prisons private or managed by private companies?
I don’t think the article specifically says, but most prisons in the U.S. are privately owned. I can only imagine that’s more the case in Texas than it is the nation as a whole.
According to this, Texas has ~7% of their prison population in private facilities. The national rate is ~8%.
Hrm. Well, I’m happily surprised to be wrong on that.
Most prisons in the US are not privately owned.
8% of prisoners in the US are in private prisons.
Public prisons are also uniquely terrible. Both need dramatic reforms (at minimum, imo)
https://nicic.gov/weblink/private-prisons-united-states-2021
There’s an excessive perception that the US prison system is privately run. As terrible as the concept is, it is not as widespread as people think… however the US prison population is gigantic, so it still isn’t very small.
Not only are most US prisons not private, but I think the article was pretty clear that this was the result of decisions ultimately made by the state.
State prisons are still shitholes, though.
That’s insane, fucking water tap water should be free and drinkable everywhere 🤦🏻♂️