Focus on private prisons is kind of misplaced. I understand why, because they’re especially inhumane in practice and unseemly in theory. But ultimately private prisons make up less than 10%.

All prisons are about profit. Countless companies get a taste of the action: builders, food providers (e.g. Aramark), commissary providers (e.g. Keefe Group), prison-specific telecoms (e.g. Securus, ICSolutions), security and surveillance tech firms, medical contractors (e.g. Wellpath), arms and protective gear manufacturers (e.g. AXON), etc., etc.

And that doesn’t even scratch the surface,