ABSTRACT
Prison contracts guarantee that the state will pay the company a certain price per prisoner, and this more stable expenditure seems attractive to cash strapped states. The series depicts compromises in the healthcare, education, food quality, and safety of inmates, as well as the lack of training and concern for inmate rehabilitation that results from privatization. The impact of the undertrained officers escalates from pepper spraying, to rape, to assault, to murder of inmates who are supposed to be under the protection of the state. Staff interviews, inmate focus groups, the inmate survey, and institutional data all indicate that personal safety is at risk at the lake erie correctional institution (LAECI). While this overcrowding is more commonly reported in the news, some voters may not realize the impact this has on inmates' lives. Orange is the New Black(OITNB) makes it abundantly clear that prison privatization is bad for all parties involved. Health, safety, and living/working conditions are all in decline.
