Buzzy Martin Privatization Of Prisons Who's Investing In Them and who is CCA, after writing his book... Buzzy has become an advocate for everyone in the wrong side of the prison system and what it means to parents and their children! PRIVATE PRISONS ARE BACK... Outlawed at the beginning of the 20th Century, private corporations are once again owning and operating prisons for profit. A controversial issue which dates back to the days that followed the Emancipation Proclamation, CORRECTIONS examines its re-appearance today amidst globalization and the most awesome growth of prisons in all of modern history, painting a complex portrait of what many are calling the "prison industrial complex." THE PRIVATE PRISON In the mid-1980's, fifteen years of massive and unprecedented growth within the US prison system hit a snag -- it ran out of money. When the state wants to build a new prison, it traditionally asks the voters to approve the cost through a bond issue. But this time, voters throughout the country began to say no. So many turned to private investment, to venture capital, both to fund new prison projects and to run the prisons themselves for costs around $30 to $60 per bed, per day. This began what we know today as the for-profit, PRIVATE PRISON INDUSTRY. THE PRISON BOOM PRODUCES PRISON PRIVATIZATION 1970 : 280,000 prisoners | 2000 : 2,000,000 prisoners. More about Buzzy Martin