Maine’s plan to ship 125 inmates to Oklahoma begs a bigger question; whose sick idea was it to open and operate prisons-for-profit?

That they even exist says that the ideals of punishment, rehabilitation and justice have fallen long and hard.

Even before prisons-for-profit, nationwide corrections were going the wrong way. The war on drugs is a failure; the new war on sex offenders is doomed to the same fate.

Corrections should be about punishment, rehabilitation, justice and reattached, strengthened ties to the community; not about warehousing, profit and creating a separate, unequal group of citizens whose only goal is not going back.

Society should insist that legislators and the Department of Corrections mandate this philosophy. Prisons-for-profit skate as close to the edge of the 13th Amendment as we have in a long time. What’s the motivation for rehabilitation? More inmates serving longer sentences is what fuels the industry.

That same fuel powers government prisons. Shifting inmates to county jails and opening unused space, just to fill up again, could increase overcrowding and lay the foundation for discussion of building more prisons.

My prediction: a bond issue about this presented to tax-weary residents very soon.

Prisons-for-profit is a bad idea and the road we’ve taken to get there is a scary one.

Think I’m wrong? Prison’s not enough?

Try even one year, it’s longer than you think.

Michael Johnson, Windham