This is just the tip of the iceberg, and its why America has more people in prison than any country on the planet....money.

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. - For years, the juvenile court system in Wilkes-Barre operated like a conveyor belt: Youngsters were brought before judges without a lawyer, given hearings that lasted only a minute or two, and then sent off to juvenile prison for months for minor offenses.

The explanation, prosecutors say, was corruption on the bench.
In one of the most shocking cases of courtroom graft on record, two Pennsylvania judges have been charged with taking millions of dollars in kickbacks to send teenagers to two privately run youth detention centers.

“I’ve never encountered, and I don’t think that we will in our lifetimes, a case where literally thousands of kids’ lives were just tossed aside in order for a couple of judges to make some money,” said Marsha Levick, an attorney with the Philadelphia-based Juvenile Law Center, which is representing hundreds of youths sentenced in Wilkes-Barre. Prosecutors say Luzerne County Judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan took $2.6 million in payoffs to put juvenile offenders in lockups run by PA Child Care LLC and a sister company, Western PA Child Care LLC. The judges were charged on Jan. 26 and removed from the bench by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court shortly afterward.

No company officials have been charged, but the investigation is still going on.

The high court, meanwhile, is looking into whether hundreds or even thousands of sentences should be overturned and the juveniles’ records expunged.

Among the offenders were teenagers who were locked up for months for stealing loose change from cars, writing a prank note and possessing drug paraphernalia. Many had never been in trouble before. Some were imprisoned even after probation officers recommended against it.
Many appeared without lawyers, despite the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark 1967 ruling that children have a constitutional right to counsel.

more at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29142654/

You thought there was some other reason we have more prisoners per capita?

This is Local news for me .. Im really tired of hearing it on the news already.. Now its here ...

I wonder what happens to a judge that gets locked up?



I'm sure there are special concessions regarding the matter, as in country club minimum security instead of real prison. But still, they deserve some nice, hard hiv+ raping.

Did I say I did?

Sorry I meant to add a to the end of that.

You're right, this is just the tip of the ice berg!

To the best of my knowledge, America has 5% of the worlds population while having 25% of the world's prisoner population! I believe a significant reason for this is that we have a privatized jail system (I don't believe that 100% of America's jail are private, but the privatized jails are continuing to climb) and lobbyists for these jails are pushing for whatever will increase their profits, naturally.

It's extremely daunting to think about how much power the lobbyists are gaining . Can anyway say "Death Race" (a movie )

Anyway, thanks for the article, I found it very interesting!

wow and wow...

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And that is just two they have caught doing it.Makes you wonder how many others are doing it for profit also.OPH

How do private jails make money?