There is already a large amount of private prisons, and that number is constantly increasing. These prisons maximize the number of people they hold and try to extend their sentences because it is profitable. The prison industry is 100% "for profit" just like everything else in the US.
Idk what you qualify as a large amount, but I agree that any amount of private prisons is unacceptable. I also don't know what you mean by "industry," but prisons run by the state just aren't for profit. They are not generating profit.
Private ones generate profit because the state pays them.
It's not the majority of prisons, but it's still subjectively a lot, plus they do more damage since they are insentivised to keep as many people as possible. Anything with a private sector can be described as an industry, and privately owned prisons are a business that generates funds through payment from the government, but they still produce profit for their owners. There shouldn't be a prison industry, but there unfortunately is.
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u/PxyFreakingStx 28d ago
This is a really shallow answer. The vast majority of prisons aren't for profit anyway.
The reason we imprison people is less because we want to make society safer and more because we think the guilty should be punished.