Home Page Hear Past Shows Talking Justice About Us September 05, 2010 Note: Justice Talking's grant funding expired in 2008 and the project has been closed. This website is an archive of the entire run of Justice Talking shows through June 30, 2008. It is no longer being maintained. We apologize for any stale or broken links.

Photo by: Gary L. Gehman Bail Bondsmen, Bounty Hunters and Private Prisons Free Enterprise and the Criminal Justice System Last Featured: 4/21/2008 Listen to Full Program (Windows Media Player Required) Download the MP3 (Right-click and choose 'Save As...' from the pop-up menu.) Note: Justice Talking ceased production on June 30 of 2008. Link information on this site is not maintained and is provided for historical interest only. Although correct when posted, The Annenberg Public Policy Center makes no claim as the the accuracy or continued availability of any third party web links found on this site. Overview America’s free enterprise system is at work in many aspects of the criminal justice system. Profit-making bail bondsmen who help defendants post the money needed for their freedom pending trial are common in the U.S. but virtually unheard of across the rest of the world. Bounty hunters lured by big payouts find criminals who have previously eluded the police. And private companies are building and operating prisons and detention facilities. Tune in to this edition of Justice Talking where we ask whether profit and justice can mix. Should governments that are more transparent and accountable to the public operate these programs? Or are the advantages of American ingenuity that are a key part of private enterprise too good to pass up? Criminal Justice and the Profit Motive Host Margot Adler speaks with economics professor Alex Tabarrok about profit-making in the criminal justice system. Alex Tabarrok is an economics professor at George Mason University and Research Director for the Independent Institute. Listen to Audio: Windows Media MP3 Version A Former Prisoner's Perspective Host Margot Adler speaks with anti-privatization advocate Alex Friedmann on his experience being incarcerated in both state and private prisons. Alex Friedmann is the vice president of the Private Corrections Institute and associate editor of Prison Legal News. Listen to Audio: Windows Media MP3 Version Debate: Are Private Prisons a Better Option for States? State Representative Liane "Buffie" McFadyen and private prison administrator Louise Grant debate the impact of for-profit private prisons. Liane is a State Representative from Colorado, and has represented Colorado House District 47 since 2003. Louise Grant is vice president of Marketing and Communications for the Corrections Corporation of America, the country’s largest operator of private prisons. Listen to Audio: Windows Media MP3 Version A Bail Bondsman's Perspective Host Margot Adler speaks with bail agent Gene Newman about the intricacies of the bail bond industry. Gene Newman is a bail agent who owns and operates AAA Bonding Company in Jackson, Mississippi. He is a former president of Professional Bail Agents of the United States. Listen to Audio: Windows Media MP3 Version A Bounty Hunter Speaks Out Host Margot Adler speaks with bounty hunter Frank Abramovitz about the misconceptions surrounding his profession. Frank Abramovitz owns AMK Investigations and has been a bail enforcement agent for 20 years. He is also a former police officer. Listen to Audio: Windows Media MP3 Version Abolish Bail Bonds? Host Margot Adler speaks with bail reform advocate Tim Murray about why he believes the bail bond system should be abolished. Tim Murray is the executive director of the Pre-Trial Justice Institute. He has also helped to develop standards on bail-related issues for the American Bar Association. Listen to Audio: Windows Media MP3 Version ©1999-2010 University of Pennsylvania. All rights reserved. Any Justice Talking program downloaded or podcast from this site is for personal use only. Any Justice Talking program, or portion of it, may not reproduced, publicly distributed or displayed, used to create a derivative work, or otherwise copied or transmitted to a third party, in any format now known or hereafter discovered, except as expressly permitted by Law. To request permission to use Justice Talking audio, please contact support. NOTE: Justice Talking Blogs and Forums have been closed. Justice Talking’s last broadcast & podcast was June 30, 2008. Read more... Eighth Amendment Bail Bond Fairness Act Bail Reform Act (acrobat PDF file) Private Prison Information Act Federal Bureau of Prisons National Enforcement Agency Sentencing Project Alliance for Justice Changing the Guard: Private Prisons and the Control of Crime by Charles H. Logan and Alexander Tabarrok Prison Profiteers: Who Makes Money from Mass Incarceration by Tara J. Herivel and Paul Wright Private Prisons in America: A Critical Race Perspective by Michael A. Hallett and Randall Shelden You Can Run But You Can't Hide by Duane Dog Chapman The Right to a Jury Trial Innovations in Policing Juvenile Justice 40 Years After In Re Gault