Prison: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

LastWeekTonight

AI-assisted summary of Prison: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) — original source. Check the original for full context.

Source published: 2014-07-21

Key ideas

The United States incarcerates over two million people—nearly one in every 100 adults—representing an eightfold increase in the prison population since 1970 driven by mandatory minimums, mental health facility closures, and drug enforcement. (0:04)
Stark racial disparities persist in the justice system, with African-Americans sentenced for drug offenses at up to ten times the rate of white Americans despite roughly equal rates of drug use. (0:04)
Outsourcing prison services to private contractors has resulted in severe neglect, including maggot-contaminated food served by Aramark and 50 inmate deaths in Arizona following a $30 million cut in privatized healthcare spending. (7:19)
Private prison operators like GEO Group and CCA generate over $3 billion in combined annual revenue, creating perverse incentives where shareholder returns rely on high recidivism rates and aggressive cost-cutting. (11:01)

Detailed notes

## Background This video was published to YouTube by the channel LastWeekTonight on July 21, 2014. According to the page description, the segment explores how America's prisons are broken, featuring John Oliver and various puppets to help explain the complex subject matter.

## TL;DR John Oliver investigates the systemic failures of the American criminal justice system, highlighting how mass incarceration is driven by mandatory minimums, the War on Drugs, and the shuttering of mental health services. The segment examines the normalization of prison abuse and the dangerous consequences of privatizing food, healthcare, and entire correctional facilities for profit. By analyzing the financial incentives that reward high recidivism and understaffing, Oliver argues that the system prioritizes corporate revenue over human rehabilitation or safety.

## Atmosphere & style The tone is quintessentially satirical, blending biting investigative journalism with the surreal, disarming levity of a children's television show. Oliver maintains a rhythm of incredulous, rapid-fire humor that oscillates between righteous indignation and morbid irony, especially when utilizing puppets to dramatize horrific real-world accounts of neglect. The emotional arc is intentionally jarring, moving from sobering statistics and appalling human rights abuses to absurd, laugh-out-loud comedy, ultimately leaving the viewer with a sense of frustrated alarm regarding the state of American justice.

## Bulletin - [00:04](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pz3syET3DY&t=4s) The United States incarcerates over two million people—nearly one in every 100 adults—representing an eightfold increase in the prison population since 1970 driven by mandatory minimums, mental health facility closures, and drug enforcement. - [00:04](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pz3syET3DY&t=4s) Stark racial disparities persist in the justice system, with African-Americans sentenced for drug offenses at up to ten times the rate of white Americans despite roughly equal rates of drug use. - [07:19](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pz3syET3DY&t=439s) Outsourcing prison services to private contractors has resulted in severe neglect, including maggot-contaminated food served by Aramark and 50 inmate deaths in Arizona following a $30 million cut in privatized healthcare spending. - [11:01](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pz3syET3DY&t=661s) Private prison operators like GEO Group and CCA generate over $3 billion in combined annual revenue, creating perverse incentives where shareholder returns rely on high recidivism rates and aggressive cost-cutting.

## Key takeaways - [00:04](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pz3syET3DY&t=4s) The United States holds the largest prison population in the world, with over two million incarcerated individuals surpassing the total in China. - [00:04](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pz3syET3DY&t=4s) Mandatory minimum sentencing laws create immense pressure on defendants, leading 97 percent of federal cases to end in guilty pleas rather than trials. - [00:04](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pz3syET3DY&t=4s) Drug offenses account for half of federal inmates and a quarter of state admissions, disproportionately targeting minorities despite similar drug consumption across demographics. - [03:10](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pz3syET3DY&t=190s) Pop culture frequently trivializes prison sexual violence as an acceptable punchline, even as four percent of incarcerated people report being sexually victimized annually. - [03:10](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pz3syET3DY&t=190s) Federal oversight displays striking detachment, highlighted by Bureau of Prisons Director Charles Samuels being unable to state the dimensions of a standard solitary confinement cell in congressional testimony. - [07:19](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pz3syET3DY&t=439s) Privatizing prison food through companies like Aramark produced widespread food shortages and instances of maggot-infested meals across Michigan facilities. - [07:19](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pz3syET3DY&t=439s) Arizona's decision to privatize correctional healthcare reduced medical expenditures by $30 million but was accompanied by 50 inmate deaths in just eight months. - [07:19](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pz3syET3DY&t=439s) Shocking medical malpractice under privatized healthcare included packing granulated sugar into a female inmate's infected surgical C-section incision for three weeks. - [11:01](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pz3syET3DY&t=661s) Nearly nine percent of U.S. prisoners are held in corporate-run facilities where incarceration is pitched to Wall Street investors as a profitable growth industry. - [11:33](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pz3syET3DY&t=693s) For-profit prisons operate under a perverse business model where shareholder profits depend on high recidivism rather than successful inmate rehabilitation. - [11:33](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pz3syET3DY&t=693s) A GEO Group youth facility in Mississippi was ordered closed by a federal judge after severe understaffing—just two guards for 256 youths—fostered rampant abuse. - [12:55](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pz3syET3DY&t=775s) Florida Governor Rick Scott championed prison privatization tied to a rigid seven percent budget savings requirement while attending political fundraisers hosted by GEO Group's CEO. - [15:35](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pz3syET3DY&t=935s) A satirical children's puppet segment highlights how prisons are routinely used to manage mental illness and low-level offenses due to decades of political neglect.

## Detailed walkthrough ### [00:04](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pz3syET3DY&t=4s) Mass Incarceration and Racial Disparity

John Oliver begins by pointing out that Americans are obsessed with prison as entertainment, consuming shows like *Orange Is the New Black*, MSNBC’s weekend incarceration marathons, and the film Oliver describes as “Tim Robbins dancing shirtless in the rain.” However, this fascination is matched by a staggering real-world reality: an unprecedented number of citizens are actually locked inside them. Testifying before a House Judiciary Committee hearing, a lawmaker bluntly summarized the crisis: “Our nation now has the greatest number of prisoners of any country in the world.” More than two million Americans are currently incarcerated—meaning nearly one in every 100 American adults is behind bars, giving the United States a larger incarcerated population than China.

The country's prison population has expanded eightfold since 1970, driven by a confluence of systemic changes: the shuttering of the mental health system, harsh mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines—which pressure 97 percent of federal defendants to plead guilty rather than risk trial—and the War on Drugs. Drug offenses alone account for half of all inmates in federal prisons and roughly a quarter of all admissions to state prisons. While drug usage rates between white and African-American populations are roughly equal, enforcement is profoundly unbalanced. A cited study indicates that African-Americans are sentenced to prison for drug crimes at up to ten times the rate of white Americans. The issue has become so pervasive that *Sesame Street* introduced a storyline where Muppets comfort a young child whose father is in jail, explaining that incarceration is what happens when grown-ups break rules.

- Over 2 million Americans are currently incarcerated in prison or jail. - U.S. prison populations have grown eightfold since 1970. - Mandatory minimum sentencing leads 97% of federal defendants to plead guilty to avoid trial. - Drug offenses account for 50% of the federal prison population and 25% of state prison admissions. - African-Americans are imprisoned for drug offenses at up to 10 times the rate of white Americans despite similar drug usage rates.

---

[03:10](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pz3syET3DY&t=190s) Prison Rape as a Punchline and Ignorance of Solitary Confinement

Because prisoners are convicted lawbreakers, Oliver observes that society finds it extraordinarily easy to ignore their welfare and normalize horrific abuse through comedy. Pop culture routinely treats prison sexual assault as an acceptable punchline, popping up across family board games, cartoons, and comedies ranging from *Office Space* to *Puss in Boots*. Oliver points out that four percent of prisoners—one in every twenty-five—report having been sexually victimized in the past year, remarking that if one out of every two dozen donuts bought at a bakery had been raped, people would be deeply horrified.

This societal indifference extends to government leadership responsible for prison conditions. During a congressional hearing, the director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Charles Samuels, was asked by a lawmaker to give the basic physical dimensions of an average solitary confinement cell: “The size of the cell that a person is kept in.” Samuels struggled visibly, stalling and asking if the member of Congress wanted the space in feet and inches before guessing that a cell was six feet by four feet. After Oliver mocks this initial guess as barely the size of an elevator or a six-foot party sub, Samuels later corrected the official record to ten feet by seven feet—a confined space where an inmate is left entirely alone as their mental health deteriorates.

```mermaid flowchart TD accTitle: Drivers and Realities of Incarceration accDescr: Diagram illustrating the drivers of mass incarceration leading to poor prison conditions and indifference. subgraph Drivers["Systemic Drivers"] MH["Mental Health System Closures"] MM["Mandatory Minimum Sentences"] WD["War on Drugs & Disparate Enforcement"] end

subgraph Impacts["Incarceration Realities"] Pop["Over 2 Million Inmates"] Abuse["4% Subject to Sexual Victimization"] Solitary["Solitary Confinement (10x7 ft Cells)"] end

Drivers --> Pop Pop --> Abuse Pop --> Solitary ```

---

[07:19](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pz3syET3DY&t=439s) Privatization of Food and Healthcare Services

Public apathy has paved the way for states to outsource basic prison operations to private, for-profit subcontractors seeking to cut costs. The Aramark Corporation, contracted to provide meals in correctional facilities under the promise of cost savings, compiled an alarming track record. Reports revealed 65 separate incidents where Aramark ran out of food or failed to serve meals, altered recipes to utilize substandard ingredients, and served meals contaminated with maggots in Michigan facilities.

Privatized prison healthcare has produced even more dire consequences. When Arizona outsourced its correctional medical services to save money, spending dropped by $30 million, staffing collapsed, and 50 inmates died in custody during the first eight months of the year—compared to 37 deaths across the previous two full years combined. In one horrific case, a woman who had a C-section in jail was denied standard treatment and instead had packets of commercial kitchen sugar poured directly into her unhealed incision under gauze for three weeks. When confronted with this story, an Arizona lawmaker was completely dismissive: “I’m not saying that that some of them can't have a basis in fact, but you got to take them with a grain of salt or in the case of the hospital, maybe a grain of sugar.”

- Aramark had 65 logged incidents of food shortages and served maggot-infested meals in Michigan prisons. - Arizona's prison healthcare privatization slashed medical spending by $30 million. - Inmate deaths in Arizona Department of Corrections custody reached 50 in the first 8 months of privatized healthcare, up from 37 over the previous two years combined. - An incarcerated mother had kitchen sugar poured into her surgical C-section wound for three weeks as a substitute for modern medicine.

---

[11:01](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pz3syET3DY&t=661s) For-Profit Private Prisons

Beyond subcontracting food and healthcare, governments have turned over entire facilities to corporate custody. Nearly nine percent of all prisoners in the United States are housed in facilities run by private corporations such as the GEO Group and Corrections Corporation of America (CCA). Last year, these two publicly traded companies generated over $3 billion in combined revenue. While their public relations and marketing materials tout an earnest dedication to inmate rehabilitation, their corporate presentations tell a very different story to investors, pitching the incarceration of human beings as an attractive business model and growth opportunity.

[11:33](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pz3syET3DY&t=693s) The Perverse Incentives of For-Profit Incarceration

John Oliver breaks down the fundamental financial logic behind the private prison business model: high recidivism rates directly translate into guaranteed revenue. Oliver mocks the assurances such companies offer their Wall Street investors, joking that they dispel fears of reform by assuring shareholders that their business will not produce rehabilitated citizens. As Oliver quips, “Once we're done with these prisoners, they're like human boomerangs. They're broken right in the middle and they keep coming back.”

Oliver stresses that the core flaw lies in the premise itself: “The key problem with running prisons as businesses is that prisons are then run as businesses.” In an effort to maximize profit margins, staffing levels and staff pay are reduced to dangerous extremes. In one egregious example, a youth detention facility operated by GEO Group in Mississippi was left so severely understaffed that just two guards were tasked with overseeing up to 256 incarcerated youths. The facility was eventually forced to shut down after an intervention by a federal judge, who ruled that physical and sexual abuse had become rampant because the prison's managers permitted a “cesspool of unconstitutional and inhuman acts and conditions to germinate.”

- GEO Group operated a juvenile facility in Mississippi where only two guards were assigned to monitor up to 256 inmates. - A federal judge ordered the Mississippi facility closed, ruling that operators fostered rampant physical and sexual abuse. - Florida presented GEO Group with an award praising its “bold and innovative cost-saving business practices,” which Oliver calls “basically sarcastic.”

```mermaid flowchart TD accTitle: The Private Prison Business Cycle accDescr: Diagram illustrating how private prison incentives cause understaffing, abuse, and repeat incarceration. subgraph Incentives["Corporate Incentives"] A["Profit & Shareholder Demand"] --> B["Aggressive Cost-Cutting"] end subgraph FacilityImpact["On-the-Ground Conditions"] B --> C["Low Pay & Extreme Understaffing"] C --> D["Cesspool of Abuse & Neglect"] end subgraph Outcome["Systemic Loop"] D --> E["High Recidivism Rates"] E -->|"Human Boomerang Effect"| A end ```

---

[12:55](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pz3syET3DY&t=775s) Rick Scott and Florida's Privatization Bottom Line

Florida's commendation of GEO Group bore the signature of Governor Rick Scott, who spearheaded efforts to privatize state correctional facilities under a strict budgetary requirement. In archival footage, Governor Scott defends the push: “As you know, what the bill says is that we don't save at least 7%, we don't do prison privatization.”

Oliver ridicules Scott's rigid monetary standard, marveling that the governor drew the line at a specific balance sheet threshold: “Hey, listen, if you think Rick Scott is going to look the other way for a company with a history of the physical abuse of minors for savings of a mere 6%—you don't know Rick Scott, okay? Ricky needs seven. Ricky wants seven. Ricky likes seven, okay?” The cozy relationship between state politics and the private correctional industry is further underscored by Scott's upcoming calendar: Oliver reports that on the following evening, Scott was scheduled to attend a political fundraiser hosted at the private home of GEO Group’s CEO. Oliver dryly suggests the theme of that gathering ought to be “a cesspool of unconstitutional and inhumane acts.”

---

[14:02](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pz3syET3DY&t=842s) Explaining a Broken System to Puppets

Overwhelmed by the grim realities of private prisons and the broader penal system, Oliver admits, “This is all so depressing. Private prisons are bad, yes, but the whole system just seems fundamentally broken. You know what? I think, if you don't mind, I need a minute. I actually need some help understanding this.” He steps into a children's television-style workshop set populated by puppets to try and sort through the issues.

When a puppet named Timmy asks why Oliver is sad, Oliver explains that America's prisons are broken. Timmy shares that his father is serving time for a low-level drug offense—a reality Oliver points to as an emblem of the system's unfairness. Another puppet interjects that his father is locked up for murdering four people, prompting Oliver to clarify that dangerous individuals genuinely belong in prison. A third puppet complains that people pay money to view his father behind bars; Oliver quickly points out that this father is an animal in a zoo, not a human prisoner. When another puppet asks for an example of systemic failure, Oliver cites the real-life medical nightmare of prison staff pouring granulated sugar into a female inmate's infected surgical incision. The puppet confuses the medical term with the alphabet, asking if he means “the letter C,” to which an exasperated Oliver decides to simply agree.

---

[15:35](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pz3syET3DY&t=935s) The Puppet Sing-Along: "America's Prisons Are Broken"

To process the trauma of the criminal justice system, the puppets persuade Oliver to participate in an upbeat, children's-show style musical number. The song uses a lively melody to catalog the grim systemic failures of American mass incarceration:

> “It's a fact that needs to be spoken: > America's prisons are broken. > It's a hard truth about incarceration, > prisons are needed for a civilized nation. > But mandatory minimums for heroin and crack > stack the system against Hispanics and blacks. > Our prison population is bigger than Slovenia, > 'cause we put people in jail instead of treating schizophrenia.”

During the performance, a green puppet laments that his father was jailed simply because police deemed him a “monster,” prompting Oliver to validate that this constitutes racial profiling. The reptile puppet pipes up again about locking up animals, prompting Oliver to insist that the puppet's father is merely an alligator in a zoo. Offended, the puppet snaps, “I'm a crocodile!” and accuses Oliver of bigotry: “Oh, we all look alike, right?” Oliver stumbles over himself trying to defend against accusations of prejudice against reptiles while trying to keep the musical routine on track.

The segment concludes in the style of an educational television sponsor credit. The ensemble declares that America's broken prison system was brought to the public by “decades of neglect,” “a lack of political courage,” “a generous donation by the GEO Group,” and “viewers like you.”

## Notable quotes > [11:33](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pz3syET3DY&t=693s) The key problem with running prisons as businesses is that prisons are then run as businesses. — John Oliver

> [14:02](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pz3syET3DY&t=842s) Private prisons are bad, yes, but the whole system just seems fundamentally broken. — John Oliver

## Mentioned John Oliver, Tim Robbins, Charles Samuels, Rick Scott, Orange Is the New Black, MSNBC, Sesame Street, Office Space, Puss in Boots, Aramark Corporation, Arizona Department of Corrections, GEO Group, Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), Federal Bureau of Prisons, House Judiciary Committee

## Video description America's prisons are broken. Just ask John Oliver and several puppets.

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[Source](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pz3syET3DY)

中文简报

《上周今夜秀》：美国监狱系统约翰·奥利弗深入探讨了美国刑事司法系统的体制性弊端，指出强制最低刑期、“毒品战争”以及心理健康机构的关停是造成大规模监禁的主要原因。本期节目审视了监狱虐待行为的常态化，以及将伙食、医疗乃至整座矫正设施私有化牟利所带来的危险后果。奥利弗分析了推动高再犯率和压缩人员编制背后的经济利益，认为该系统显然将企业收入置于人员改造或安全之上。美国目前监禁了200多万人，相当于每100名成年人中就有近一人在押；在强制最低刑期、精神卫生机构关闭和严打毒品的推动下，自1970年以来监狱人口激增了八倍。 (0:04) 司法系统中依然存在严重的种族差异：尽管非裔与白人的吸毒比例基本相当，但非裔美国人因涉毒罪名获刑的比率最高可达白人的十倍。 (0:04) 将监狱服务外包给私营承包商导致了严重的玩忽职守现象，例如爱玛客（Aramark）供应生蛆的食物，以及亚利桑那州在削减3000万美元私营化医疗支出后发生了50起囚犯死亡事件。 (7:19) 像GEO Group和CCA这样的私营监狱运营商年收入合计超过30亿美元，这催生了扭曲的激励机制，使股东回报严重依赖于高再犯率和激进的成本削减。 (11:01)

Reading summary

John Oliver argues that the United States has built an unprecedented system of mass incarceration driven by policy failures, pervasive societal indifference, and perverse profit incentives in outsourced prison services. Drivers of Explosive Growth and Racial Disparities (0:04) The United States holds the largest prison population in the world, with more than two million people incarcerated—representing nearly one in every 100 American adults and surpassing the total incarcerated population of China. The nation's prison headcounts have expanded eightfold since 1970. According to the program, this boom stems from a combination of the closure of the mental health system, harsh mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines that push 97 percent of federal defendants to plead guilty, and the War on Drugs. Drug-related offenses constitute half of all inmates in federal prisons and roughly a quarter of all state prison admissions. While white and African-American populations demonstrate similar rates of drug usage, enforcement remains sharply skewed. A cited study indicates that African-Americans are sentenced to prison for drug violations at up to ten times the rate of white Americans, embedding deep racial disparities into the justice system. Cultural Normalization of Abuse and Solitary Confinement (3:10) Because incarcerated individuals are convicted of breaking laws, broader society frequently ignores their living conditions and normalizes severe mistreatment. Popular media routinely reduces prison sexual assault to a comedic trope across movies, cartoons, and games, even as four percent of prisoners report experiencing sexual victimization within the past year. Oliver emphasizes this widespread indifference by noting that the general public would never tolerate comparable abuse in everyday commercial settings. This lack of concern and oversight extends directly into government leadership. During a congressional hearing, Federal Bureau of Prisons director Charles Samuels struggled to state the physical dimensions of a solitary confinement cell, initially guessing six by four feet before correcting the record to ten by seven feet. Inmates are isolated in these confined spaces for prolonged periods as their mental health deteriorates. Severe Failures in Outsourced Food and Healthcare (7:19) Public indifference has enabled state governments to outsource essential operations to private contractors aiming to cut operational budgets. For instance, food contractor Aramark amassed 65 logged incidents of food shortages or unserved meals, used inferior ingredients, and served maggot-contaminated food in Michigan correctional facilities. Privatized medical services have produced even harsher outcomes. When Arizona privatized its prison healthcare to cut spending by $30 million, staffing levels collapsed, and 50 inmates died in custody during the first eight months compared to 37 over the prior two full years combined. In one documented incident, an incarcerated woman had commercial kitchen sugar poured into an unhealed C-section wound for three weeks in lieu of standard medical care, an account that an Arizona lawmaker dismissed flippantly. Commercial Incarceration and Financial Conflicts of Interest (11:01) Approximately nine percent of U.S. prisoners reside in facilities operated by private corporations such as GEO Group and Corrections Corporation of America, which generated more than $3 billion in combined annual revenue. Oliver highlights the perverse incentives underpinning the business model, where corporate revenue depends on steady headcounts and high recidivism rather than successful rehabilitation. To preserve margins, companies cut staffing and wages severely, leading to conditions like those in a Mississippi youth detention center where two guards supervised up to 256 juveniles before a federal judge ordered the facility closed due to unchecked abuse. These private operators maintain close relationships with political leaders who enforce cost thresholds. Florida Governor Rick Scott defended privatization by demanding at least a seven percent cost savings for the state and presented GEO Group with an award for its cost-saving practices, while also scheduling an appearance at a political fundraiser held at the CEO's home. The segment concludes that American mass incarceration represents a fundamentally broken structure sustained by political neglect, lack of reform courage, and the financial interests of private prison corporations.

精炼阅读摘要

John Oliver在节目中指出，美国面临严重的大规模监禁危机，超过两百万人身陷囹圄；刑事司法系统不仅存在深层的种族执法不公与社会漠视，更因监狱运营及核心服务的商业私有化而陷入恶劣的人道侵害与牟利循环。大规模监禁扩张与种族执法失衡 (0:04) 自1970年以来，美国的监狱人口增长了八倍，目前有超过200万人被关押在监狱或看守所中，占美国成年人口近百分之一，在押人数超过中国。这波监禁浪潮主要由精神卫生医疗系统的关闭、严苛的法定强制最低刑期，以及长期的“毒品战争”共同推动。强制最低刑期政策导致97%的联邦被告因惧怕重刑而被迫选择认罪放弃受审。数据显示，毒品相关罪名占联邦监狱犯人总数的一半，占州监狱入狱人数的约四分之一。尽管相关统计表明，美国白人与非裔群体的毒品使用比例大致相当，但在执法与判决上存在显著的不对等。研究显示，非裔美国人因毒品犯罪被判入狱的比率高达白人的十倍。监禁现象的广泛蔓延甚至促使儿童节目《芝麻街》引入了狱中父母的故事情节，用以安抚并向幼童解释为何成年人因触犯规则而身陷铁窗。社会漠视与单独监禁的恶劣环境 (3:10) 由于囚犯属于被定罪的违法群体，美国社会和流行文化极易对其基本权益采取漠视态度，甚至将严重的侵权行为当成笑料。在家庭桌游、动画片以及多部流行喜剧电影中，监狱性侵频繁被用作通俗笑点；而现实中，过去一年内有4%（即每25人中就有一人）的服刑人员报告遭遇过性侵害。这种漠视态度同样延伸至负责监狱监管的高层官员。在一次国会听证会中，联邦监狱局（Federal Bureau of Prisons）主管Charles Samuels在被议员质询平均单独监禁牢房的具体尺寸时显得极为生疏，最初仅推测牢房约为6英尺乘4英尺，随后才将官方记录修正为10英尺乘7英尺。服刑人员在此类极度狭小的封闭空间内长期与外界隔绝，导致其心理与精神健康遭受严重损害。监狱后勤与医疗私有化的致命恶果 (7:19) 公众与体制的漠不关心，促使各州政府为了缩减预算，将监狱的基本后勤与医疗服务外包给私营营利性承包商。承包多地膳食服务的Aramark公司虽声称能节省开支，但记录显示其发生了65起食物短缺或未按时供餐的事故，并存在擅自修改食谱采用劣质食材的问题，甚至在密歇根州监狱被曝出向囚犯供应爬满蛆虫的餐食。医疗外包造成的后果更为严重。亚利桑那州在将其监狱医疗服务私有化后削减了3000万美元支出，但随之而来的是医护人员严重匮乏；在私有化推行的前八个月内，该州在押人员死亡人数升至50人，超过此前整整两年共37人死亡的总和。另有案例显示，一名在狱中接受剖腹产手术的女性未获得正规术后护理，其未愈合的感染伤口被直接倒入商用厨房食用糖并包裹纱布长达三周，然而州议员在面对该丑闻质询时仍态度轻浮。营利性私营监狱与扭曲的商业闭环 (11:01) 除后勤外包外，全美近9%的囚犯被直接关押在由GEO Group和CCA（美国惩教公司）等上市私营企业运营的监狱中，这两家公司上一年度的营业收入合计超过30亿美元。尽管私营监狱在公关宣传中强调罪犯改造，但在面向华尔街投资者的报告中，其核心商业模式却建立在高再犯率带来的床位需求上，甚至被比作“像回力镖一样不断返回监狱的破损商品”。为了扩大利润空间，营利性监狱普遍采取极端的低薪与缩减人员配置策略。在GEO Group运营的密西西比州一处青少年拘留中心，曾出现仅由两名警卫负责监管多达256名青少年的极端情况；由于管理方纵容身体与性虐待肆虐，该设施最终被联邦法官勒令关闭，并被法官定性为滋生违宪与非人道行径的温床。此外，政商勾结进一步加剧了系统问题，佛罗里达州州长Rick Scott曾以“至少节省7%预算”作为私有化准绳为GEO Group颁奖，并在次日计划出席该企业首席执行官家中举办的政治筹款活动。该节目总结指出，美国的大规模监禁危机不仅是私营监狱逐利的结果，更是数十年来体制性忽视、政治勇气缺失，以及错误地用刑罚系统替代精神健康治疗与社会福利保障的系统性恶果。

Detailed notes — zh

## Background 本期视频由 HBO 脱口秀节目《约翰·奥利弗上周今夜秀》（Last Week Tonight with John Oliver）于 2014 年 7 月 21 日发布在 YouTube 平台。视频简介直截了当地指出，美国的监狱系统已经彻底崩塌，奥利弗将携手多只木偶共同揭露这一严峻现实。 ## TL;DR 约翰·奥利弗深入探讨了美国的大规模监禁危机，指出自 1970 年代以来由于毒品战争与强制最低刑期法律，监狱人口暴增八倍至 200 余万人，并存在严重的种族执法偏见。节目揭露了大众文化对狱中性侵与严苛单独监禁的冷漠漠视，以及将膳食、医疗和牢房运营外包给爱玛客（Aramark）和 GEO Group 等私营企业所造成的非人道惨剧——包括配餐生蛆、用食用白糖填塞剖宫产伤口以及恶劣的暴力虐待。奥利弗进一步抨击了政客与私营监狱资本之间以牺牲人权换取成本削减的利益勾结，并在结尾戏仿《芝麻街》儿童布偶剧，用荒诞辛辣的合唱控诉了整个体制的崩坏与政治勇气的丧失。 ## Atmosphere & style 节目的基调在辛辣讽刺与沉重愤怒之间激烈碰撞，奥利弗以标志性的快节奏脱口秀风格，将骇人听闻的真实数据与黑色幽默无缝交织。当探讨狱中性侵、医疗虐待以及听证会官员的无知推诿时，现场氛围从荒诞的笑声急转直下为令人窒息的道德审视。结尾处色彩鲜艳的布偶与歌唱形式更形成了一种极具冲击力的反差萌，既荒诞滑稽又令人心碎，让观众在捧腹之后深切感受到系统性体制崩塌带来的刺痛与绝望。 ## Bulletin - [00:04](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pz3syET3DY&t=4s) 美国在押囚犯突破200万人，占全球最庞大在押群体，非裔因涉毒入狱比例高达白人的10倍，尽管两群体吸毒率相近。 - [02:23](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pz3syET3DY&t=143s) 调查显示过去一年中有4%（每25人中1人）的囚犯曾遭性侵害，而大众文化却常将其轻佻娱乐化。 - [07:19](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pz3syET3DY&t=439s) 监狱外包私营化引发严重人道危机，承包商被曝断粮、配餐生蛆，亚利桑那州医疗削减3000万美元后8个月内在押死亡达50人。 - [11:33](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pz3syET3DY&t=693s) 私营监狱依赖高累犯率与极端削减人手盈利，甚至存在政商勾结，如时任佛州州长在GEO Group CEO豪宅举办政治募款。 ## Key takeaways - [00:04](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pz3syET3DY&t=4s) 美国每约100名成年人中就有1人被监禁，全国在押人数突破200万，超过中国的人口监禁规模。 - [00:04](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pz3syET3DY&t=4s) 自1970年代以来美国监禁人口暴增8倍，联邦监狱中50%的服刑人员源于涉毒罪名。 - [00:04](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pz3syET3DY&t=4s) 强制最低刑期制度迫使97%的联邦被告选择认罪协商，以规避受审后面临的漫长重刑风险。 - [00:04](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pz3syET3DY&t=4s) 毒品战争执法存在严重种族不公，白人与非裔吸毒率相当，但非裔涉毒入狱率高达白人的10倍。 - [02:23](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pz3syET3DY&t=143s) 大规模监禁普遍到迫使儿童节目《芝麻街》专门制作布偶内容向幼童解释父母入狱的社会现象。 - [02:23](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pz3syET3DY&t=143s) 全美在押人员中约4%报告在过去一年曾遭性侵，公众却对狱中性暴力普遍缺乏同理心并乐于拿肥皂梗取乐。 - [04:49](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pz3syET3DY&t=289s) 监管高层对囚犯精神困境漠不关心，联邦监狱局长在国会听证中甚至无法准确答出单独监禁禁闭室的长宽尺寸。 - [07:19](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pz3syET3DY&t=439s) 大型餐饮承包商爱玛客（Aramark）在密歇根等地出现65次断粮或缺粮记录，并被频繁曝出餐食爬满活蛆。 - [07:19](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pz3syET3DY&t=439s) 亚利桑那州将监狱医疗外包后削减3000万美元预算，头8个月死亡50人，甚至出现用外卖白糖包直接填塞剖宫产感染伤口的荒谬行径。 - [07:19](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pz3syET3DY&t=439s) GEO Group与CCA等私营监狱巨头年营收超30亿美元，商业模式在本质上依赖高累犯率以保障持续客源。 - [11:33](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pz3syET3DY&t=693s) GEO Group在密西西比州的青少年管教设施曾出现2名看守监管256名犯人的极端状况，因充斥性虐待被法官斥为违宪污水池。 - [12:55](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pz3syET3DY&t=775s) 佛罗里达州州长里克·斯科特推动私有化并设立7%节支门槛，同时深度参与GEO Group首席执行官豪宅举办的政治筹款。 - [14:02](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pz3syET3DY&t=842s) 讽刺木偶剧唱出美国监狱系统崩塌的深层根源：数十年来的忽视、政客缺乏政治勇气以及私营监狱巨头的利益驱动。 ## Detailed walkthrough ### [00:04](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pz3syET3DY&t=4s) 惊人的监禁规模与不成比例的毒品战争约翰·奥利弗（John Oliver）在开场指出，美国人似乎对“监狱”题材有着无法满足的痴迷——从热播剧《女子监狱》（*Orange Is the New Black*）、MSNBC 整个周末几乎全天候播放的监狱纪录片，到 TNT 电视台反复重播的电影《肖申克的救赎》（被他戏称为“蒂姆·罗宾斯在雨中脱光上衣跳舞的大片”）。然而，现实中美国被关在牢狱里的人数同样令人震惊。正如国会众议院司法委员会听证会上所披露的那样，美国拥有全球最庞大的在押囚犯群体，目前每大约 100 名美国成年人中就有 1 人身处监狱或拘留所。美国在押人数已突破 200 万大关，甚至超过了中国的人口监禁规模；奥利弗调侃道，除了对中国的国债，美国在任何东西的拥有量上都从未赢过中国。自 1970 年代以来，美国的囚犯人口暴增了八倍，奥利弗笑称七十年代至今唯一能以这种速度扩张的就只有各种口味的奇脆滋（Cheerios）麦圈。这起人口暴增由多重因素共同导致，包括精神卫生系统的瓦解、导致 97% 的被告宁可认罪也不愿冒险受审的“强制最低刑期”法律，以及持续已久的“毒品战争”（War on Drugs）。目前联邦监狱中半数囚犯是因毒品罪名入狱，州立监狱每年新收押人员中也有四分之一源于涉毒罪名。尽管白人与非裔美国人的毒品使用率大致相当，但研究显示非裔因涉毒被判入狱的比例高达白人的十倍，充分暴露了法律在执行层面的严苛与种族偏见。 ```mermaid flowchart TD accTitle: 美国监禁人口暴增与毒品战争驱动机制 accDescr: 展示制度性因素与毒品执法如何推高联邦和州立监狱的监禁率 subgraph Causes["监禁人数激增的核心推手"] A["精神卫生系统瓦解"] B["强制最低刑期法律 (97% 联邦被告选择认罪)"] C["毒品战争与严苛法案"] end subgraph Disparity["执法种族差异"] C --> D["毒品使用率大致相同 (白人 vs 非裔)"] D --> E["非裔涉毒入狱率 高达白人 10 倍"] end subgraph PrisonPop["监狱人口激增后果"] B --> F["联邦囚犯 50% 涉毒"] C --> G["州立监狱新收押 25% 涉毒"] F --> H["全国囚犯突破 200 万人 (每 100 成人约 1 人在押)"] G --> H end ``` - 美国监禁人口自 1970 年以来增长了 8 倍。 - 97% 的联邦罪名被告选择认罪协商，以规避强制最低刑期带来的审判重刑风险。 - 联邦监狱中 50% 的服刑人员涉及毒品罪名，州立监狱新增收押中涉毒人员占 25%。 - 统计显示，非裔美国人因涉毒入狱的比例最高可达白人的 10 倍，即便两者的吸毒比例基本相同。 --- ### [02:23](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pz3syET3DY&t=143s) 《芝麻街》科普入狱与社会对狱中性侵的冷漠嘲讽美国的大规模监禁已经普遍到迫使儿童节目《芝麻街》（*Sesame Street*）专门制作节目，向孩子们解释什么是入狱。节目中一只布偶伤感地坦白“我爸爸在坐牢”，另一只布偶则安慰并解释大人触犯法律规则后就必须去监狱，并齐唱“我们会做你的朋友，帮你渡过难关，你并不孤单”。奥利弗感慨，如今美国竟然需要可爱的会唱歌的布偶来向幼童解释监狱，就像解释数字“7”或者月亮一样。相比《芝麻街》的严肃对待，整个社会大众往往更乐于将囚犯视而不见。由于在押人员身份是定罪罪犯，公众很容易彻底放弃对他们的同理心，甚至习以为常地拿最骇人听闻的暴力开玩笑。奥利弗展示了大量流行影视与卡通桥段——从“千万别掉肥皂”的烂梗、电影《办公室风云》（*Office Space*）中关于“联邦爆菊监狱”的台词，到《穿靴子的猫》（*Puss in Boots*）中对监狱里煎蛋遭虐待的粗俗暗示。面对公众对狱中性暴力的轻佻态度，奥利弗给出了严肃的数据反驳： > “4% of prisoners reported being sexually victimized in the past year. One in 25. Now, that might not sound like a lot, but think of it like this. If every time you bought two dozen donuts, one of them had been raped, you'd be pretty upset. And those are pastries, prisoners are people.” > —— 约翰·奥利弗 - 调查显示，过去一年中有 4%（即每 25 人中就有 1 人）的在押囚犯报告曾遭受性侵害。 - 流行文化中频繁将监狱捡肥皂与性侵作为笑料，反映了公众对囚犯基本人权与安全问题的漠视。 --- ### [04:49](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pz3syET3DY&t=289s) 禁闭室尺寸之谜：联邦监狱局长的荒唐作证对于普通人而言，如果不认识囚犯也不认为自己会坐牢，囚犯的生活条件往往不会被列入关切名单；但本应最清楚内情的联邦官员却表现得极其荒诞。奥利弗播放了一段参议院听证会录像，听证人员向美国联邦监狱局（Federal Bureau of Prisons）局长询问最折磨人精神的“单独监禁”（solitary confinement）禁闭室尺寸究竟有多大。局长在面对“平均禁闭室长宽多少英尺英寸”这一基础事实时语塞良久、含糊其辞，场面极度尴尬。在听证人员再三追问下，局长终于支吾着猜测大概是“6 英尺乘 4 英尺”（约 1.8 米乘 1.2 米）。奥利弗当场驳斥，这完全是凭空瞎猜，6 乘 4 英尺的狭小空间连电梯都算不上，充其量就是一根 6 英尺派对三明治的长宽。几分钟后，局长才不得不更正禁闭室的实际尺寸为“10 英尺乘 7 英尺”（约 3 米乘 2.1 米）。奥利弗对此极尽讽刺地表示，在这多出来的几英尺空间里，“殿下”大可以在脑子逐渐崩溃失常的同时，摆上一张乒乓球桌跟想象中的对手打球。这一连串反应生动暴露了监管高层对囚犯遭受的严酷精神折磨漠不关心。 --- ### [07:19](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pz3syET3DY&t=439s) 监狱私有化外包灾难：生蛆伙食与“白糖治剖宫产”的荒诞医疗更加严峻的现实是，政府正逐步将囚犯的各项基础生活与健康保障推向外包私营化。大型外包企业爱玛客（Aramark）承担了多家监狱的伙食供应，其宣传口号声称能带来“更多节省”，但记录显示，该公司在密歇根州等地被曝出 65 次克扣断粮或食物耗尽的记录，甚至篡改食谱使用低劣原料，监狱配餐中更是频繁被发现爬满活蛆。奥利弗讥讽道，只有当你是只家人在大海中失踪的蛆虫漂流三天获救时，听到“找到蛆虫了”才会感到高兴。 ```mermaid flowchart LR accTitle: 亚利桑那州监狱私有化导致服务质量恶化流程 accDescr: 展现监狱伙食与医疗外包后引发的断供、致死率上升及违规治疗事件 subgraph Outsourcing["私营承包商介入"] direction TB A["爱玛客 (Aramark) 缩减伙食预算"] B["私人医疗承包商 缩减 3,000 万美元开支"] end subgraph Crisis["引发严重危机"] direction TB A --> C["65 次断粮缺粮 食品中检出活蛆"] B --> D["医护人员锐减 8 个月内在押死亡 50 人"] B --> E["医疗手段极度倒退 (如麦当劳糖包填塞伤口)"] end ``` 在医疗外包方面，后果更为致命。亚利桑那州将监狱医疗私有化后削减了 3000 万美元的开支，导致医护人员数量锐减；结果仅在当年头 8 个月内就有 50 名囚犯在州惩教署羁押期间死亡，远超前两年死亡人数的总和（前两年合计仅 37 人）。更有甚者，一名在狱中接受剖宫产（C-section）的女囚在术后伤口感染时，监狱医护人员竟直接撕开麦当劳外卖配给的那种白糖包，连续三周将食用白糖倒进她的剖宫产腹部伤口中，再用纱布贴上，声称这是抗生素发明前的古老民间偏方。面对媒体披露，亚利桑那州一名议员面对镜头不仅毫无愧色，反而冷嘲热讽称囚犯一天 24 小时闲着没事编造指控，听这些话得带点怀疑，“或者在医院这事上，带点白糖”。 - 爱玛客（Aramark）监狱餐饮记录显示其发生 65 起断粮或未按规定供餐事件，并因在密歇根监狱食物中发现活蛆而登上新闻头条。 - 亚利桑那州将监狱医疗私有化后，医疗开支削减 3000 万美元，头 8 个月内导致 50 名服刑人员死亡（前两年总和仅 37 人）。 - 私有化管理下，全美近 9% 的监狱设施已被直接交由私营企业运营，其中 GEO Group 和美国惩教公司（CCA，现 CoreCivic）上一年度的合计营收已超过 30 亿美元。 ### [11:33](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pz3syET3DY&t=693s) 私营监狱的商业逻辑与 GEO Group 的虐待丑闻以盈利为目的的私营监狱在商业逻辑上存在根本性的荒谬：监狱将“高累犯率”（high recidivism）视为绝佳的财务保障。约翰·奥利弗（John Oliver）讽刺道，这简直是安抚投资者的最佳话术——面对投资者担心犯人被彻底改造成社会有用之才的疑虑，运营公司大可承诺这绝非他们的经营方向：“Once we're done with these prisoners, they're like human boomerangs. They're broken right in the middle and they keep coming back.”（等我们处理完这些犯人，他们就像人类回旋镖一样。他们在中间折断了，然后不断被送回来）。将监狱当作企业来经营的核心问题，在于其管理完全受利益驱动。为了削减成本，私营监狱大幅压缩员工薪水与人员配置比例。例如，GEO Group 在密西西比州运营的一处青少年管教设施中，曾出现过仅由两名看守人员看管多达 256 名在押青少年的极度失衡状况。该设施最终被勒令关闭，但在关闭前，一名联邦法官曾在裁决中写道，那里的身体虐待与性侵犯猖獗泛滥，因为运营方“allowed a cesspool of unconstitutional and inhuman acts and conditions to germinate”（放任了一个滋生违宪和非人道行径及环境的污水池）。 ```mermaid flowchart TD accTitle: 私营监狱的恶性商业闭环 accDescr: 展示私营监狱如何通过压缩成本与依赖高累犯率实现盈利并导致严重虐待 subgraph 商业运营与削减成本 A["资本追求利润回报"] --> B["压低看守薪资与人手配置 (如 2 人监管 256 人)"] B --> C["监管失控与非人道虐待 (违宪恶劣环境)"] end subgraph 财务循环与利益交换 C --> D["囚犯缺乏改造 (高累犯率成为回旋镖)"] D --> A A -.->|"政治献金 / 节省开支指标"| E["政客推动私有化立法 (佛罗里达州 7% 门槛)"] E -.-> A end ``` 针对 GEO Group 可能辩解上述指控不够客观，奥利弗调侃地补充了该公司的“正面荣誉”：佛罗里达州曾给他们颁发奖项，表彰其“大胆而创新的成本削减商业实践”——尽管在奥利弗看来，佛罗里达州颁发的任何奖项本质上都像是一种反讽。 - 密西西比州 GEO Group 青少年设施的人手极度匮乏，曾出现 2 名看守监管多达 256 名囚犯的极端比例。 - 联邦法官裁定该青少年设施充斥着泛滥的身体与性虐待，是一个违宪和非人道的“污水池”。 - 佛罗里达州官方曾公开褒奖 GEO Group 大胆且具有创新性的节支商业手段。 --- ### [12:55](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pz3syET3DY&t=775s) 州长里克·斯科特的利益纽带与 7% 的节支门槛时任佛罗里达州州长里克·斯科特（Rick Scott）是私营监狱商业化的大力推动者，给 GEO Group 的表彰奖状正是由他签署。在推动该州监狱私有化法案时，斯科特为政府合作开出了一条极其强硬的底线条件：“There is no way we'll do this if we don't save money. As you know, what the bill says is that we don't save at least 7%, we don't do prison privatization.”（如果不省钱，我们绝不会做这件事。正如大家所知，法案规定如果我们不能至少节省 7%，我们就不会实行监狱私有化）。对此，奥利弗极尽嘲弄地指出，如果有人以为斯科特州长会为了一家有虐待未成年人前科的公司睁一只眼闭一只眼、仅仅换取 6% 的开支缩减，那可就大错特错了——“Ricky 需要 7%，Ricky 渴望 7%，Ricky 喜欢 7%”。更具讽刺意味的是两者的利益勾结：如果有公众想就 GEO Group 的恶劣行径向斯科特当面质询，第二天晚上绝对找不到他，因为这位州长正忙着参加一场政治募款活动，而活动的举办地点恰恰就是 GEO Group 首席执行官的私人豪宅。奥利弗调侃称，那场筹款晚会的主题干脆就叫作“违宪与非人道行径的污水池”。 - 里克·斯科特推动的私有化立法严格限定：若不能为纳税人节省至少 7% 的成本，便不推行私有化。 - 斯科特在执政期间一边推动私有化，一边前往 GEO Group CEO 的私人住宅出席政治筹款晚会。 --- ### [14:02](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pz3syET3DY&t=842s) 《芝麻街》风格木偶剧：唱出美国破碎的监狱制度面对整个监狱系统令人窒息的残酷现实，奥利弗直言这一切让人极度抑郁，私营监狱固然恶劣，但整个惩教体系本身早已彻底崩塌。为了“排解情绪并弄清真相”，节目画风一转，进入了戏仿儿童节目《芝麻街》（Sesame Street）的木偶互动环节。几个木偶纷纷上场讨论自己的父亲为何入狱：小木偶 Timmy 说自己的父亲是因为“轻微毒品犯罪”（low-level drug offense）被关押，奥利弗赞同这正是司法失衡的体现；第二个木偶却称自己的父亲杀了四个人，奥利弗连忙澄清危险分子确实该被关进监狱；而一只小鳄鱼木偶则抱怨自己的父亲被关进笼子里还被人们花钱围观，奥利弗哭笑不得地解释“那其实是动物园”。谈及监狱条件的骇人听闻，奥利弗提到有监狱医疗人员在剖腹产（C-section）伤口里放白糖的医疗丑闻，由于木偶以为是字母“C”，奥利弗只能顺着儿童语境敷衍过去。随后，木偶们提议用唱歌的方式来表达愤怒与反思。伴随着欢快的儿童剧旋律，木偶们与奥利弗齐声合唱主题曲揭露体制顽疾：“It's a fact that needs to be spoken. America's prisons are broken.”（这是一个必须说出的事实：美国的监狱系统已经彻底坏掉了）。歌词直击美国司法与监禁的多重弊端：针对海洛因与强效纯可卡因（crack）的强制最低刑期制度（mandatory minimums）严重针对拉美裔与黑人；整个国家的监禁人数甚至超过了斯洛文尼亚的总人口，仅仅因为社会把精神分裂症患者关进牢房，而不是予以医疗治疗；监狱内部更是充斥着暴力、蛆虫甚至强奸等国家之耻。中途小鳄鱼木偶抗议父亲被当成怪物抓走是种族定性，并在奥利弗称其父亲是“短吻鳄”（alligator）时愤怒反驳自己是“鳄鱼”（crocodile），控诉奥利弗认为冷血爬虫类“都长得一个样”，带来了充满荒诞色彩的喜剧停顿。在合唱的高潮与尾声，木偶们以经典公共广播电视台（PBS）节目的致谢口吻宣布：美国破损的监狱系统，由“数十年的忽视、政治勇气的缺失、来自 GEO Group 的慷慨赞助，以及像您一样的观众共同促成”。 - 针对海洛因与可卡因的强制最低刑期制度（Mandatory Minimums）造成了严重的种族司法不公。 - 美国因以监禁替代精神疾病（如精神分裂症）治疗，导致监狱人口规模极其庞大（超过斯洛文尼亚全国人口）。 - 歌曲将美国监狱危机归咎于三点：数十年的系统性忽视、政客缺乏政治勇气、以及私营监狱巨头（如 GEO Group）的金钱驱动。 ## Mentioned 约翰·奥利弗, 《女子监狱》, MSNBC, TNT, 《肖申克的救赎》, 蒂姆·罗宾斯, 中国, 奇脆滋 (Cheerios), 美国众议院司法委员会, 《芝麻街》 (Sesame Street), 《办公室风云》 (Office Space), 《穿靴子的猫》 (Puss in Boots), 美国联邦监狱局 (Federal Bureau of Prisons), 爱玛客 (Aramark), GEO Group, 美国惩教公司 (CCA / CoreCivic), 里克·斯科特 (Rick Scott), 佛罗里达州, 密西西比州, 亚利桑那州, 密歇根州, 斯洛文尼亚, PBS ## Video description America's prisons are broken. Just ask John Oliver and several puppets. Connect with Last Week Tonight online... Subscribe to the Last Week Tonight YouTube channel for more almost news as it almost happens: www.youtube.com/user/LastWeekTonight Find Last Week Tonight on Facebook like your mom would: http://Facebook.com/LastWeekTonight Follow us on Twitter for news about jokes and jokes about news: http://Twitter.com/LastWeekTonight Visit our official site for all that other stuff at once: http://www.hbo.com/lastweektonight [Source](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Pz3syET3DY)

Source quotes

[11:33] John Oliver: The key problem with running prisons as businesses is that prisons are then run as businesses. [14:02] John Oliver: Private prisons are bad, yes, but the whole system just seems fundamentally broken.

Original transcript

[0:04] Our main story tonight concerns [0:06] something Americans simply can't get [0:08] enough of, prison. We we love to be [0:11] entertained by it, from Orange is the [0:13] New Black to seemingly MSNBC's entire [0:16] weekend programming [0:18] to the TNT classic Tim Robbins dancing [0:20] shirtless in the rain, the movie. [0:22] We love prisons so much, a shocking [0:25] number of Americans are currently inside [0:27] one. As we learned last week during a [0:29] House Judiciary Committee hearing. [0:32] Our nation now has the greatest number [0:33] of prisoners of any country in the [0:35] world. Nearly one in every 100 adults in [0:37] America is in prison or jail. [0:40] That's true. We have over 2 million [0:43] people behind bars right now. We have [0:45] more prisoners at the moment than China. [0:48] Than China. We don't have more of [0:51] anything than China [0:53] other than of course debt to China. And [0:56] it didn't it didn't always used to be [0:59] this way. Our prison population has [1:00] expanded eightfold since 1970. The only [1:04] other thing that's grown at that rate [1:05] since the 70s is varieties of Cheerios. [1:09] Fruity Cheerios. [1:12] YOU TRUMPED UP FRUIT Loops and you know [1:14] it. [1:15] And and look, look. [1:17] Our prison population has exploded for a [1:19] number of reasons, from the dismantling [1:21] of our mental health system to mandatory [1:23] minimum sentence laws which uh help [1:25] explain why 97% of people plead guilty [1:29] to federal crimes rather than risk going [1:31] to trial to of course drugs. Because [1:34] half the people in federal prison are [1:37] there on drug charges and it accounts [1:39] for a quarter of admissions to state [1:41] prisons. And of course it's tricky to [1:42] know how to feel about all this because [1:44] on the one hand the war on drugs has [1:46] completely solved our nation's drug [1:48] problem, so that's good. [1:50] But on the other hand our drug laws do [1:53] seem to be a little draconian and a lot [1:56] racist. Because while white people and [1:58] African-Americans use drugs about the [2:01] same amount, a study has found that [2:03] African-Americans have been sent to [2:04] prison for drug offenses at up to 10 [2:07] times the rate for some utterly known [2:10] reason. It It reminds me [2:13] It reminds me of a joke. You know, black [2:15] people who commit drug offenses, they go [2:17] to jail like this. Whereas white people [2:20] don't go to jail at all. [2:23] In fact, so many people So many people [2:26] are incarcerated in America right now [2:28] that it's become one of the things that [2:30] Sesame Street has to explain to [2:32] children. [2:33] My dad is [2:36] My dad's in jail. [2:37] When I was about your age, my dad was [2:39] incarcerated, too. Incarcerated is when [2:42] someone breaks the law, a grown-up rule, [2:44] and then they have to go to jail or [2:46] prison. [2:47] We will be your friend. [2:51] We'll help you through. [2:53] You're [2:53] not alone. [2:58] Just think about that. [3:01] We now need adorable singing puppets to [3:03] explain prison to children in the same [3:05] way they they explain the number seven [3:07] or what the moon is. [3:10] And at least Sesame Street is actually [3:12] talking about prison. The rest of us are [3:14] much happier completely ignoring it. [3:16] Perhaps because it's so easy not to care [3:20] about prisoners. They are, by [3:22] definition, convicted criminals. In [3:24] fact, it's so easy not to care that we [3:26] are really comfortable making jokes [3:29] about one of the most horrifying things [3:31] that can potentially happen to them. [3:33] Go directly to jail. [3:36] Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. And [3:39] do not, I repeat, do not DROP THE SOAP. [3:52] LOOK, BALLOONS. [3:54] NOW [3:54] drop them. [3:55] You know what? If we were in prison, you [3:57] guys would be like my [4:00] We're going to federal pound me in the [4:01] ass prison. [4:02] PLUS, YOU GOT ANY IDEA what they do to [4:04] eggs in San Ricardo prison? [4:06] It ain't over easy. [4:08] Oh. [4:10] Oh. [4:12] Did Did you get it? Did you get it? The [4:14] egg is going to get against its [4:16] will. That [4:18] That's why it's funny. No, why don't you [4:20] get your children and explain that joke [4:21] to them? They'll love it. [4:25] We are somehow collectively able to [4:28] laugh about references to the fact that [4:30] 4% of prisoners reported being sexually [4:32] victimized in the past year. One in 25. [4:36] Now, that might not sound like a lot, [4:38] but think of it like this. If every time [4:40] you bought two dozen donuts, one of them [4:42] had been raped, you'd be pretty upset. [4:45] And those are pastries, prisoners are [4:47] people. If [4:49] If you If you don't know a prisoner [4:51] though, or think that you're ever likely [4:53] to become one, then their safety and [4:55] health it is not going to be high on [4:57] your list of priorities. You don't need [4:59] to know anything about the conditions [5:02] that they live in. But you know who [5:03] should know? Well, maybe the director of [5:06] federal prisons. And yet, watch him [5:08] almost comically struggle to recall a [5:11] basic detail about one of the most [5:13] mentally excruciating things prisoners [5:15] can be subjected to, solitary [5:17] confinement. [5:18] How big is a cell? [5:21] How big is the average cell in solitary? [5:25] Say the [5:26] the average size [5:27] cell Yeah, the size of the cell. How big [5:29] is it? [5:31] What is I'm trying to get this is a [5:33] human [5:34] thing we're talking about. We've got a [5:36] lot of statistics. How big is the cell? [5:40] The The average size of a [5:43] cell is [5:46] I guess I'm trying to find you're [5:48] looking for the the space of what [5:51] the [5:51] Yes. [5:52] The dimensions [5:54] in feet [5:56] and inches. [5:57] The size of the cell [5:59] that a person is kept in. [6:02] I want to get some idea of I I don't [6:05] know Am I asking this wrong? [6:08] No, you're not. [6:10] You are not asking it wrong. [6:12] As far as I can remember, you're just [6:14] asking him what the size of the [6:15] cell is. [6:16] But But it was a long time ago. And And [6:19] to to be fair, he did eventually get an [6:21] answer. [6:22] The average size should be [6:25] uh equivalent to [6:28] which 6 by [6:31] 4. [6:32] WHAT? 6 BY 4? [6:35] Couple of things there. One, that was [6:36] clearly a guess. [6:39] And two, 6 by 4 is barely an elevator. [6:42] That That is the length of a 6-ft party [6:44] sub by the length of the amount of that [6:47] party sub that's left over the following [6:48] day cuz nobody wants party subs. No, [6:52] people put their hands all over them. [6:53] They're disgusting. You know what? [6:54] That's not the point. That's not the [6:55] point. [6:57] But thankfully, a few minutes later, the [6:59] record was corrected. [7:01] For the actual it's it's 10 by 7. [7:04] For the cell size. [7:06] Ooh, 10 by 7. [7:08] Step this way, your highness. [7:11] Plenty of room for a ping pong table and [7:14] an imaginary opponent as your mind [7:16] slowly becomes untethered. [7:19] What is clear so far is that we are [7:21] doing a terrible job of taking care of [7:23] people that it is very easy for all of [7:25] us not to care about. But here's the [7:27] thing. Increasingly, we aren't taking [7:30] care of them at all. Private [7:32] subcontractors have have steadily been [7:34] taking over certain services like the [7:36] Aramark Corporation who provide food to [7:39] prisons and a promise that with Aramark, [7:42] you can expect more, more savings. [7:45] And hey, look, when you're being thrifty [7:47] with food costs, what's the worst that [7:49] can happen? [7:50] Records show 65 instances where Aramark [7:53] employees failed to provide food or ran [7:56] out. [7:56] The private vendor Aramark changed [7:58] recipes to include cheaper, sometimes [8:00] substandard ingredients. [8:01] Aramark Correctional Services made [8:03] headlines recently after maggots were [8:06] found in food served at prisons here in [8:08] Michigan. [8:09] That is not good. The only time when you [8:13] are happy to hear the words maggots were [8:15] found is when you are a maggot whose [8:17] family was lost at sea. [8:20] We floated 3 days on a piece of bread, [8:22] but we never lost hope. [8:25] And it's not just food being privatized, [8:28] it's prison health care, too. Arizona [8:30] tried that. Guess how it turned out. [8:34] Medical spending in prisons dropped by [8:36] $30 million [8:38] and staffing levels plummeted. 50 people [8:41] died in Arizona Department of [8:43] Corrections custody in just the first 8 [8:46] months of this year. Compare that to 37 [8:49] deaths in the previous 2 years combined. [8:53] 50 deaths? [8:55] At this point, you could hire the people [8:57] who pretend to be doctors on Grey's [8:59] Anatomy and you would probably have a [9:01] lower mortality rate and a lot more [9:03] intrigue. [9:07] Cutting costs has led to some incredible [9:10] things happening in Arizona. One [9:12] prisoner had a C-section in jail and [9:15] this is how she says they treated her. [9:18] They decided to use sugar. [9:22] Kitchen sugar. [9:24] What do you mean they used kitchen [9:25] sugar? [9:26] Um the packets, like McDonald's, the [9:29] sugar, they would open it, pour it [9:31] inside, [9:32] and put um gauze over it and tape Put [9:36] And I had to do that for like 3 weeks. [9:38] And they poured them in your C-section. [9:40] Yeah. [9:40] Did they tell you why they were doing [9:42] that? [9:42] One of the doctors learned it from [9:46] I don't even know. [9:48] I don't know. Basically, it's a home [9:50] remedy. [9:51] Sugar was used to treat wounds before [9:54] the advent of antibiotics back in the [9:56] early 1900s. [9:58] Yeah. But then we all decided it was no [10:01] longer an acceptable medical practice. [10:04] Like curing a child's cough with heroin. [10:08] He's not coughing anymore. Yeah, he's [10:09] not really doing much of anything [10:11] anymore. And I can't find any of the [10:13] good silver. [10:15] But look. [10:17] Look. [10:19] You will never pay a political price for [10:23] treating prisoners like this woman [10:24] badly. You don't even need to pretend to [10:27] care. Here is how one Arizona lawmaker [10:29] responded to her story. [10:32] That doesn't sound like a true [10:33] allegation. [10:34] That sounds ridiculous. You know, [10:35] prisoners have you know, 24/7 to think [10:38] up allegations and write letters. I'm [10:40] not saying that that some of them can't [10:42] have a basis in fact, but you got to [10:44] take them with a grain of salt or in the [10:45] case of the hospital, maybe a grain of [10:47] sugar. [10:50] Somewhere in hell, Satan just sharpened [10:53] his pitchfork and said to his secretary, [10:55] "Do me a favor, Janice, and let me know [10:56] when that guy gets here, okay? [10:59] I just want to be ready." [11:01] Many states are even contracting out [11:03] entire prisons. Nearly 9% of prisons are [11:06] currently run by private firms like GEO [11:08] Group and Corrections Corporation of [11:11] America, who had combined revenues of [11:13] over $3 billion last year. They're [11:15] publicly traded. And while their [11:17] marketing materials emphasize how much [11:19] they do to help their prisoners rebuild [11:21] their lives, their pitch to investors [11:24] has been a little bit different. [11:26] In a recent investor presentation, CCA [11:29] pitches its unique investment [11:31] opportunity. Another reason investing in [11:33] the jailing of people makes good [11:35] financial sense, high recidivism. [11:38] Oh, that's That is a great way to [11:41] reassure your investors. Look, look, [11:42] look, we see your concerns, you know, [11:44] what if we fully rehabilitate the [11:46] prisoners and they become fully [11:48] functional members of society. Well, [11:50] don't worry, that's not the kind of [11:51] company we're running here. Don't worry. [11:53] Once we're done with these prisoners, [11:55] they're like human boomerangs. They're [11:56] broken right in the middle and they keep [11:58] coming back. [12:00] The key problem with running prisons as [12:03] businesses is that prisons are then run [12:06] as businesses. Pay and staffing ratios [12:09] are so much lower that a GEO Group youth [12:11] facility in Mississippi sometimes had [12:14] just two officers overseeing as many as [12:16] 256 prisoners. That facility eventually [12:20] closed, but only after a federal judge [12:22] wrote that physical and sexual abuse was [12:24] rampant there because its operators had [12:27] allowed a cesspool of unconstitutional [12:30] and inhuman inhuman acts and conditions [12:33] to germinate. Now, I know that GEO will [12:35] say that presents an unbalanced picture [12:37] of their company. So, in the interest of [12:39] balance, I will point out that they got [12:41] an award from the state of Florida [12:43] citing their bold and innovative [12:45] cost-saving business practices. [12:47] Although, I think we all know when the [12:49] state of Florida gives you an award, [12:51] that award is basically sarcastic. [12:55] In fact, [12:56] a quick side note, [12:58] the award was signed by Florida Governor [13:01] Rick Scott, who has led the drive for [13:03] prison privatization in his state, but [13:06] on one condition. [13:08] What I've said all along is that, yeah, [13:09] this is an opportunity for the taxpayers [13:12] of the state [13:13] to save money. [13:14] There is no way we'll do this if we [13:16] don't save money. As you know, what the [13:17] bill says is that we don't save at least [13:19] 7%, we don't do prison prison [13:21] privatization. [13:22] Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, listen, if you [13:24] think Rick Scott is going to look the [13:26] other way for a company with a history [13:27] of the physical abuse of minors for [13:29] savings of a mere 6%. You don't know [13:31] Rick Scott, okay? [13:33] Ricky needs seven. Ricky wants seven. [13:36] Ricky likes seven, okay? [13:38] Now now if you happen at all to be [13:39] interested in asking Rick Scott about [13:41] the conduct of the GEO Group, for [13:43] goodness sake, don't do it tomorrow [13:46] night. He's busy. Uh we actually checked [13:48] and he's going to be at a fundraiser at [13:51] the home of, and this is true, the CEO [13:54] of GEO Group. I believe the theme of [13:56] that fundraiser is a cesspool of [13:59] unconstitutional and inhumane acts. [14:02] Look. [14:05] This is [14:07] This is all [14:08] so depressing. Private prisons are bad. [14:12] Yes, but the whole system just seems [14:15] fundamentally broken. You know what? I I [14:17] I think, if you don't mind, I need a [14:18] minute. I I actually need some help [14:20] understanding this. If you don't mind. [14:29] Hey John. Uh you seem sad. [14:32] Yeah. [14:33] Yeah, I I am sad, Timmy. It's just [14:36] I've I've I've been looking at the [14:37] prison conditions in America and the [14:39] whole system is just so horribly broken. [14:42] I know what you mean. Uh my daddy's in [14:44] jail right now for a low-level drug [14:46] offense. [14:47] that's exactly what I'm talking about, [14:49] Timmy. That's crazy. [14:50] Well, my daddy's in jail because he [14:53] killed four people. [14:55] Yeah, well, I I I Okay, he's actually a [14:57] dangerous individual who needs to be in [14:59] jail. So, that's not really the same [15:01] thing. [15:01] My daddy's in jail and people pay money [15:03] to see him. [15:04] Yeah, that's actually a zoo. That's [15:06] different. [15:07] He's in a zoo, okay? [15:09] It looks the same to him. [15:10] Well, let's not conflate the two, okay? [15:12] Oh, he's gone. Okay. [15:12] Hey. [15:13] Hey. Hey John, how badly broken is the [15:15] prison system? [15:16] Yeah. [15:16] Well, I can't believe I'm going to say [15:18] this, but one prison actually put sugar [15:20] in a woman's C-section. [15:23] Wait a second. What's a C-section? [15:25] Yeah. Um [15:26] Oh, wait, WAIT, WAIT. YOU MEAN LIKE [15:28] THE LETTER C? [15:29] YES. YES. [15:31] YES, that's what I mean. That's That's [15:33] exactly what I mean. Yeah. Yeah. That's [15:35] Mr. Oliver, wouldn't it make you feel [15:37] better if we sing about it? [15:41] Well, it can't hurt. LET'S DO IT. [15:43] WE'RE SINGING ABOUT IT, TOO. [15:45] YEAH. [15:47] IT'S A FACT THAT NEEDS TO BE SPOKEN. [15:51] America's prisons are broken. [15:54] It's a hard truth about incarceration. [15:58] Prisons are needed for a civilized [16:00] nation. [16:01] BUT MANDATORY MINIMUMS FOR HEROIN AND [16:04] CRACK [16:05] stack the system against Hispanics and [16:07] blacks. [16:08] Our prison population is bigger than [16:11] Slovenia. [16:12] Cuz we put people in jail instead of [16:14] treating schizophrenia. [16:16] I know. I KNOW. THEY PUT MY DAD IN JAIL [16:18] CUZ THEY SAY HE'S A MONSTER. [16:21] SORRY. WHAT WHAT WHAT [16:23] What What did he do? [16:24] Nothing. They just said HE LOOKED LIKE A [16:26] MONSTER. [16:26] WELL, THAT'S RACIAL PROFILING, and [16:28] that's wrong, too. Okay? [16:32] It's a fact that needs to be spoken. [16:36] America's prisons are broken. [16:39] Prison conditions are a national [16:41] disgrace. [16:43] With violence. [16:44] AND MAGGOTS. [16:44] AND POSSIBLY RAPE. [16:46] AND WE SHOULDN'T LOCK UP reptiles just [16:48] to look at their face. [16:49] Those are zoos. Those are zoos. Your dad [16:52] is an alligator in a zoo. [16:54] I'm a crocodile. I'M A CROCODILE. [16:58] OH, JESUS. HERE WE [16:59] OH, BOYS. [17:01] OH, we all look alike, right? [17:04] No, no, that's not what I'm saying. [17:05] That's not what I'm saying. That's No, [17:07] no, you can't put that on me. That is [17:08] clearly not what I was saying. [17:10] Oh. [17:10] That's so ignorant. [17:12] Oh, come on. [17:14] As you were saying, [17:15] it's a fact that needs to be spoken. [17:19] America's prisons are broken. [17:23] America's broken prison system is [17:25] brought to you by decades of neglect. [17:27] A lack of political courage. [17:29] AND A GENEROUS DONATION BY THE GEO [17:31] GROUP. [17:31] As well as viewers like you. [17:34] YES! [17:35] WE DID IT!