Back to Annual Meeting

Back to Annual Meeting

APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Martin Donohoe, MD, Community Health/Internal Medicine, Portland State University/Kaiser Permanente, 3718 Rivers Edge Drive, Lake Oswego, OR 97034, 503-819-6979, martin.donohoe@verizon.net

Many states and the federal prison system face serious overcrowding, due to the “War on Drugs” and the increasing use of mandatory minimums, repeat offender laws, truth in sentencing regulations, and decreased judicial independence. Due to overcrowding, and prompted by the often-illusory promises of free market effectiveness, a private prison boom has occurred over the last 15 years, supported by powerful connections in government. Rural communities, eager for outside investment in the face of declines in local industries, offer tax subsidies and infrastructure assistance to correctional corporations, enticed by the promise of new jobs and profits to be re-invested locally. Instead communities usually suffer social and economic hardships, and the quality of prison health care often deteriorates. This presentation will review the development of the prison-industrial complex; describe the adverse social and economic consequences of prison privatization; examine the often woefully substandard quality of health care provided by many private corporations; and discuss the increasing influence of faith-based prisoner management companies. These predominantly evangelical Christian groups, supported by President George W. Bush's Faith-Based Initiatives Program, offer perquisites ranging from better cell location to job training and post-release placement in exchange for participation in prayer groups, courses in “creationism,” and even “conversion therapy” for homosexuals and sex offenders.

Learning Objectives: