The Prison and Corrections Sector

The total spending on prisons in America at all three levels of government is roughly $90 billion.  That is roughly $450 for the approximately 200 million American taxpayers.  Haley2024 proposes that half that amount is paid for by a head tax of all citizens.  The other half of prison funding would occur by all businesses as a percentage of sales.  The Haley2024 prison reforms would hopefully reduce the needed financing for prison. 

Every citizen determines which Prison CRA to join.  Everyone pays the head-tax membership fees to their prison CRA.  The Prison Rating System will set a Rating Floor to ensure adequate funding.   Every Prison CRA must take the same percentage of prisoners proportional to membership.  All prisoners do not cost the same amount of money; therefore, every prisoner would be given a score, and that score would be factored into the proportional equations.  For example, violent criminals are more expensive than non-violent criminals.   

The representatives of the Prison and Correction Sector Board receive the other half of prison funding coming from business taxes collected by Sector 24.  This funding is used as incentives for prisons to do a great job.  The Prison Sector Board determines the funding scheme based on every prison CRA’s rating score. 
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Every Prison Rating Agency will decide what they consider are the best outcomes and methods; however, low recidivism rates, restoration, compensation, reparation, and personal long-term prospering of the convicted should be high on the list.  Prison CRA’s with better ratings would receive more money, and those Prison CRA’s with poor ratings would receive less funding. 

Prison and probation businesses/personnel also need oversight by the LEA.  LEA CRA and RA’s will dig deep and by necessity rate dynamically.  This Rating Systems and the LEA will have all the tools to diminish prison abuse.  Every citizen’s membership in all relevant CRA’s and RA’s brings real representative power to every citizen's interests and opinion.    

The Judicial Sector determines whether someone needs to be in prison or need some type of probation or supervised services.  That division of power is a significant check on abuse.  Judicial CRA’s will have significant incentives to monitor and ensure the people they send for correction are not lost in the system or abused. 

Many Rating Agencies (RA’s) also will be tasked with the job of monitoring those needing corrections.  A low rating on prisoner abuse and adverse outcomes comes with a loss of money and prison CRA memberships.  RA’s will ensure the gaming of the system is countered quickly.  Good results and positive externalities will see clear rewards. 

First, all prisoners will be separated into several categories.  The judicial system determines if someone is so violent, they should never be allowed into free society again.  Those super-violent are addressed at the end.  Society should endeavor to rehabilitate everyone else.  Prison CRA’s have complete authority to work prisoners and earn money to offset prison expenses.  Some of the earned money is for reparations given to the victims of the prisoner’s crimes.  Some of the money is for programs such as education and work skills. 

Experimentations will occur.  Some Prison CRA’s might take a small town and just have a chain link fence at the perimeter.  Every prisoner would have a non-removable GPS bracelet.  This small town would have significant big brother cameras everywhere.  Violent or disobedient behavior would have negative consequences.  12-hour work days, 6-days a week should be standard.  This could bring in enough money for good counselors and teach a trade and skills needed for a job when the prison-time is done. 

In the current government-controlled prison system, many prisoners do work outside of prison.  This new prison reform would likely increase outside the gates work.  In-home detentions with a bus bringing a prisoner to a job site are likely to intensify.  Nonviolent Prisoners with minor children would likely have plenty of opportunities to parent their children under many new models.  A chance to spend time with their children would be a great motivation to stay out of trouble in prison. 

Long term results of low recidivism rates, continued restoration and reparation after a prison term would yield a Prison CRA higher ratings, thus greater compensation.  Many lessons learned from the big brother type of supervision of prisons can be mandated longer term or for a lifetime by the courts.  A simple GPS built into a non-removable normal looking watch would dissuade many crimes because the ex-con would know their location is recorded continuously.

Certain Charity Economies would specialize in ex-cons.  Many Ex-cons go back to their life of crime because their opportunities are minimal.  Every Charity Economy would compete for the best ratings and assisting ex-cons would help those ratings. 

While there would be many Rating Floors on abuse, the prison business models would be wide open.  Bad practices would quickly be abandoned for proven successful models.  Most prisoners would earn enough to pay for their prison guards, and the overall prison costs would diminish.  Many victims of crimes would be compensated. 

The violent cold-blooded murders should receive the death penalty.  The second highest level of criminals are those that are so violent, they should never be allowed into free society for life.  These highly violent people should not receive society’s protection and rights because they showed a complete lack of respect for other people’s freedom and liberty.  These people should never have communication with anyone outside of prison.  They should be fed and only receive medical care that is over video chat and some basic medications such as antibiotics.  This second level also requires a higher bar of evidence than the reasonable doubt standard; however, not as high as the death penalty. 

There should be a higher threshold than a reasonable doubt to put a person to death.  Death penalty cases should have ‘caught in the act’ or video level of evidence.  If that high level of evidence is indicated by a prosecutor, a particular type of trial should be held.  A dozen experienced defense attorneys and judges works full time for two weeks interviewing everybody and seeing everything without any exceptions or omissions.  If these dozen experienced judicial authorities claim that the evidence meets the new higher death penalty level of proof, a week-long trial is held, and if convicted, the murderer should be put to death within a month of the murder.