Say 'Howdy' to Texas Prison Bidness

Via Corrections Sentencing I learned of Texas Prison Bidness, a new blog founded this week by Kathleen Pequeño, Nicole Porter and Judy Greene. Here are the details:

Launched in March 2007, Texas Prison Bid'ness is posting information about the growing prison-for-profit industry in Texas. Since the first prison-for-profit in the world opened in Texas in 1984, Texas has become home to scores of prisons of all shapes and sizes that are run for the profit of corporations. We'll be sharing information about the true costs of private prisons to individuals, families and communities in Texas and across the country.

About the name, Texas Prison Bid'ness

Yes, this blog's name is indeed a tribute to Texas writer Molly Ivins, who wrote in 2003, “What happens if you privatize prisons is that you have a large industry with a vested interest in building ever-more prisons.” You can read her 2003 column on the push for privatization in the Texas Legislature.

I should mention that Nicole Porter is a former colleague of mine - she's the Prison and Jail Accountability Project Director at ACLU of Texas. She recently authored a public policy report for that group on the subject of overincarceration titled, "Texas: Tougher Than Ever, But Are We Safer?" that updates information first produced several years ago by the Justice Policy Institute in a report called "Texas Tough."

Private prisons and jails are a fertile topic in Texas right now, so these writers should find plenty of fodder. Go visit and say 'Howdy.'