Louisiana is the world’s prison capital.

As Cindy Chang pointed out during our Jailing for Dollars conference, and wrote in The Times-Picayune: “The state imprisons more of its people, per head, than any of its U.S. counterparts. First among Americans means first in the world. Louisiana’s incarceration rate is nearly five times Iran’s, 13 times China’s and 20 times Germany’s.”

As was discussed at Jailing for Dollars, what are the ethical implications of these significant levels of incarceration? What happens when several homegrown private prison companies command a portion of the market? How can we most effectively eliminate abuse in the system, like the situation in Mississippi discussed in the New York Times this week?

For further information, please see The Times-Picayune’s page dedicated to Louisiana prisons.