Private prison screening, discussion planned at Wilton Town Hall Theatre

Thursday, November 15, 2012

WILTON – The issue of privatizing New Hampshire prisons will be the topic of a panel discussion and documentary screening at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 19, at the Wilton Town Hall Theatre.

The 45-minute film “Billions Behind Bars” explores the for-profit industry that is rapidly growing across the U.S.

New Hampshire’s Department of Corrections is reviewing proposals from for-profit companies seeking to build and operate its state prisons.

According to a report called “An Assessment of the Risks and Benefits of Prison Privatization,” by Elaine Rizzo, a professor of criminal justice at Saint Anselm College, and Margaret Hayes, an associate professor of nursing at Regis College, “Evidence shows that private prisons do not save money. In fact, they frequently cost states more than publicly operated facilities. They are more dangerous than publicly run prisons, and they raise key moral issues.”

Questions to be discussed include whether the state faces an inherent conflict between allowing profit-making prisons to operate and a moral obligation to rehabilitate prisoners.

The event is free and open to the public.

The CNBC documentary “Billions Behind Bars” will be shown courtesy of NHPrisonWatch, a group of organizations that oppose prison privatization. To learn more, visit www.nhprisonwatch.org.