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As we're talking about #Parchman, let's discuss the history of the prison and the current conditions. There are no good prisons, AND Parchman has a very specific history. That history is important, as is understanding the bedrock of the Mississippi prison system specifically
Parchman was started as a massively profitable convict leasing enterprise at the dawn of the 20th Century. This has been covered in the book Worse Than Slavery (discussed here by the NYT) nytimes.com/1996/04/28/boo…
Parchman was founded in 1901 as a *reform* to improve the convict leasing system at the time. In 1918 the prison had a *net revenue of 825,000* (or approximately an $800 profit per prisoner. $825,000 was a lot of money in 1918. pbs.org/newshour/arts/… 
