We can't forget that judge who got kickbacks for sentencing kids

[Babel_17]

He epitomized the problem of running prisons for profit.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/walterpavlo/2011/08/12/pennsylvania-judge-gets-life-sentence-for-prison-kickback-scheme/

His sentence brings to closure a dark time in the history of the city of Wilkes-Barre, PA, which is in Luzerne County. He was found guilty in February of racketeering for taking a $1 million kickback from the builder of for-profit prisons for juveniles. Ciavarella who left the bench over two years ago after he and another judge, Michael Conahan, were accused of sentencing youngsters to prisons they had a hand in building. Prosecutors alleged that Conahan, who pleaded guilty last year and is awaiting sentencing, and Ciavarella received kick-backs from the private company that built and maintained the new youth detention facility that replaced the older county-run center.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kids_for_cash_scandal

The "kids for cash" scandal unfolded in 2008 over judicial kickbacks at the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Two judges, President Judge Mark Ciavarella and Senior Judge Michael Conahan, were accused (and were eventually convicted) of accepting money from Robert Mericle, builder of two private, for-profit youth centers for the detention of juveniles, in return for contracting with the facilities and imposing harsh adjudications on juveniles brought before their courts to increase the number of residents in the centers.[1][2]

For example, Ciavarella adjudicated children to extended stays in youth centers for offenses as minimal as mocking a principal on Myspace, trespassing in a vacant building, or shoplifting DVDs from Wal-mart.

[Human101948]

1. Does anyone believe that this was an isolated incident?

We have seen similar schemes using the "justice" system as a cash cow and persecuting a segment of the population as the teats. Ferguson MO comes to mind with its draconian punishments and never ending fines for simple traffic tickets (that may not have been legitimate to begin with.)

[Babel_17]

2. The profit motive and justice

I can remember in the '90s my planning on driving down I-95 to Florida. Law enforcement had been empowered to seize assets from those suspected of being engaged in drug trafficking or other crimes. Before long just having lots of cash was cause for suspicion.

A portion of the money seized stayed with whatever law enforcement made the seizure. Pullovers and seizures climbed dramatically in many areas. They would search a car, find money in a suitcase, take it because having it was suspicious, bring you in, let you go, and say "come back on such and such a date if you want to fight for your cash". If you got a lawyer they would maybe offer a portion of your money back.

It got so bad that the AAA said if something wasn't done they would steer their customers around these municipalities. Local businesses started to suffer as people avoided these areas. Finally, the governors of the affected states were compelled to act and basically just put the kibosh on these operations.

[HooptieWagon]

4. No, it still goes on.

In Texas and Florida at least, probably other states too.

[HooptieWagon]

3. It goes way back.

In the South, after slavery was abolished, the local cops would arrest a vagrant, migrant, whatever, on trumped up charges. After a quick kangaroo court, the person would be found guilty by the judge and sentenced to a labor camp. Their labor was then 'purchased' for backbreaking work in the fields, turpentine camps, etc. cops and judge would get kickbacks. This continued through the depression, perhaps into the 50s in some cases. It was pure unadulterated slavery.