Mississippi private prisons hold inmates longer, without reducing crime

RT.com - Private prisons in Mississippi routinely extend inmate’s sentences by two to three months to leverage extra costs from the state, a new study found. However, the extended prison stays are having no effect on crime reduction.

The first-of-a-kind study from the University of Wisconsin compared time served by inmates in public and private prisons in Mississippi, between 1996 and 2004, to determine whether private prisons were more cost effective and whether they were leading to lower crime rates through rehabilitation programs.  Read more.