PRIVATE PRISON BOOM SHOWS SIGNS OF SLOWING

By Kathleen Murphy, Staff Writer
Stateline.org
Wednesday, August 22, 2001

PRISONS:

A private prison in Whiteville, Tenn., a town with 1,100 residents 60 miles east of Memphis, incarcerates as many convicted Wisconsin killers as any Wisconsin penal institution. States seeking the cheapest way to jail people have shipped felons beyond their borders rather than expand their own prisons. But studies show private prisons cost taxpayers nearly as much as public ones, and critics argue that punishing criminals shouldn?t be left to organizations whose primary motive is profit. Learn more about this issue at

http://www.stateline.org/story.cfm?storyid=142545