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On Friday, NPR unleashed a disturbing story
on how the private prison industry influenced and drove Arizona's
now-infamous immigration law (currently being challenged in the
courts). NPR delved into the drafting bill and the lobbying and
campaign contributions that followed. It found the private prison
industry, an industry with much to gain from the law, involved at key
stages.
"At the state Capitol, campaign donations started to appear.
Thirty
of the 36 co-sponsors received donations over the next six months, from
prison lobbyists or prison companies — Corrections Corporation of
America, Management and Training Corporation and The Geo Group.
By April, the bill was on Gov. Jan Brewer's desk."
RebLaw is hosting a panel discussing overincarceration and the prison economics behind it.
