--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Between 1990 and 2005, a new prison…" description: "\"“Between 1990 and 2005, a new prison opened in the United States every ten days. Prison growth and the resulting “prison-industrial complex”—the busine..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b7/bryan-stevenson-4134_business_between-1990-and-2005-a-new-prison-opene_2562294.jpg" --- # Between 1990 and 2005, a new prison opened in the United… ![“Between 1990 and 2005, a new prison opened in the United States every ten days. Prison growth and the resulting “prison-industrial complex”—the business interests that capitalize on prison construction—made imprisonment so profitable that millions of dollars were spent lobbying state legislators…” quote by Bryan Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b7/bryan-stevenson-4134_business_between-1990-and-2005-a-new-prison-opene_2562294.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b7/bryan-stevenson-4134_business_between-1990-and-2005-a-new-prison-opene_2562294.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b7/bryan-stevenson-4134_business_between-1990-and-2005-a-new-prison-opene_2562294.jpg) > ““Between 1990 and 2005, a new prison opened in the United States every ten days. Prison growth and the resulting “prison-industrial complex”—the business interests that capitalize on prison construction—made imprisonment so profitable that millions of dollars were spent lobbying state legislators to keep expanding the use of incarceration to respond to just about any problem. Incarceration became the answer to everything—health care problems like drug addiction, poverty that had led someone to write a bad check, child behavioral disorders, managing the mentally disabled poor, even immigration issues generated responses from legislators that involved sending people to prison. Never before had so much lobbying money been spent to expand America’s prison population, block sentencing reforms, create new crime categories, and sustain the fear and anger that fuel mass incarceration than during the last twenty-five years in the United States.”” [Bryan Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-stevenson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Mass incarceration expanded due to profit motives and political lobbying, turning prisons into a default solution for many social issues. **In simple terms:** Profit and politics drive prison growth. Key Takeaway Address root causes instead of expanding prisons. Themes justice policy mass incarceration political economy Mood somber critical Type political analytical When to use this quote - criminal justice reform - public health policy - community support programs - legislative advocacy Key Concepts sociology law economics Questions to Reflect On - How can societies reduce reliance on imprisonment? - What alternatives address underlying social issues? A Different Perspective Complex problems may need multifaceted solutions beyond incarceration. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Capitalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capitalism/) [Drug addiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drug-addiction/) [Incarceration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/incarceration/) [Mass incarceration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mass-incarceration/) [Mentally disabled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mentally-disabled/) [Prison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prison/) [Prisons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prisons/) [Profits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/profits/) ## Related quotes > [The solution to our drug problem is not in incarceration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-mccaffrey/the-solution-to-our-drug-problem-is-not-in-incarceration/) [Barry McCaffrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-mccaffrey/) > [A lot of the problems we have in our criminal-justice system, you know, the problem of over-incarceration, the problem of prosecutorial abuse, the problem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-wax/a-lot-of-the-problems-we-have-in-our-criminal-justice-system-you-know/) [Amy Wax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-wax/) > [We have a serious problem with incarceration in this country. It's destroying families, it's destroying communities and we're the most incarcerated country in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-legend/we-have-a-serious-problem-with-incarceration-in-this-country-it-s/) [John Legend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-legend/) > [“Prison is a wound we keep tucked in those parts of the country that can’t afford to turn it away, who need its jobs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-jamison/prison-is-a-wound-we-keep-tucked-in-those-parts-of-the-country-that/) [Leslie Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-jamison/) > [“The majority of people who are in prison are there because society has failed them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-y-davis/the-majority-of-people-who-are-in-prison-are-there-because-society/) [Angela Y. Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-y-davis/) > [“Incarceration is a sustained, lifetime lynching, meant to discard your soul and make a shell of you in plain life. Make you into your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junauda-petrus/incarceration-is-a-sustained-lifetime-lynching-meant-to-discard-your/) Junauda Petrus > [“Historians will likely wonder how we could describe the new caste system as a system of crime control, when it is difficult to imagine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/historians-will-likely-wonder-how-we-could-describe-the-new-caste/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“Despite claims that these radical policy changes were driven by fiscal conservatism...the reality is that government was not reducing the amount of money devoted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-alexander/despite-claims-that-these-radical-policy-changes-were-driven-by/) [Michelle Alexander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-alexander/) > [“I have often reflected upon the new vistas that reading opened to me. I knew right there, in prison, that reading had changed forever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/i-have-often-reflected-upon-the-new-vistas-that-reading-opened-to-me-2/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [“This is central to the development of feminist abolitionist theories and practices: we have to learn how to think and act and struggle against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-y-davis/this-is-central-to-the-development-of-feminist-abolitionist-theories/) [Angela Y. Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-y-davis/) > [ “Since 1865, when the \[Thirteenth\] Amendment was passed, Black men were getting charged, set up, arrested, and convicted for the pettiest of offenses--like child… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-watkins/since-1865-when-the-thirteenth-amendment-was-passed-black-men-were/) Amy Watkins > [“They'll not blame me. They'll not object to me. They'll not mind what I do, if it's wrong. I'm only Mr. Dick.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/they-ll-not-blame-me-they-ll-not-object-to-me-they-ll-not-mind-what-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“I am a Beacon of Light. I attract so many different kinds of people from all walks of life. Like a moth to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricky-star/i-am-a-beacon-of-light-i-attract-so-many-different-kinds-of-people/) [ricky star](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricky-star/) > [The feminist movement has spent 30 years putting down the role of stay-at-home moms and trying to tell young women that only someone who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phyllis-schlafly/the-feminist-movement-has-spent-30-years-putting-down-the-role-of/) [Phyllis Schlafly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phyllis-schlafly/) > [If you're an underdog, mentally disabled, physically disabled, if you don't fit in, if you're not as pretty as the others, you can still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-guttenberg/if-you-re-an-underdog-mentally-disabled-physically-disabled-if-you/) [Steve Guttenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-guttenberg/) ## More by Bryan Stevenson > [I love museums, and I think they're fantastic, but they don't touch the people who I frequently think need to be touched with at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-stevenson/i-love-museums-and-i-think-they-re-fantastic-but-they-don-t-touch-the/) [Bryan Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-stevenson/) > [I've come to understand and to believe that each of us is more than the worst thing we've ever done. I believe that for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-stevenson/i-ve-come-to-understand-and-to-believe-that-each-of-us-is-more-than/) [Bryan Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-stevenson/) > [I'm persuaded that if most people saw what I see on a regular basis, they would want change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-stevenson/i-m-persuaded-that-if-most-people-saw-what-i-see-on-a-regular-basis/) [Bryan Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-stevenson/) > [When you come to Montgomery, you see fifty-nine monuments and memorials, all about the Civil War, all about Confederate leaders and generals. We have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-stevenson/when-you-come-to-montgomery-you-see-fifty-nine-monuments-and/) [Bryan Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-stevenson/) > [“These aren’t my scars, cuts, and bruises. These are my medals of honor.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-stevenson/these-aren-t-my-scars-cuts-and-bruises-these-are-my-medals-of-honor/) [Bryan Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-stevenson/) > [The Bureau of Justice reports that one in three black male babies born this century will go to jail or prison - that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-stevenson/the-bureau-of-justice-reports-that-one-in-three-black-male-babies/) [Bryan Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-stevenson/) > [If you're just the person with power, exercising that power fearfully and angrily, you're going to be an operative of injustice and inequality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-stevenson/if-you-re-just-the-person-with-power-exercising-that-power-fearfully/) [Bryan Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-stevenson/) > [In a landscape littered with all of this imagery about the nobility of the Civil War and the Confederate effort and struggle, the absence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-stevenson/in-a-landscape-littered-with-all-of-this-imagery-about-the-nobility/) [Bryan Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-stevenson/) > [If you love your community, then you need to be insisting on justice in all circumstances.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-stevenson/if-you-love-your-community-then-you-need-to-be-insisting-on-justice/) [Bryan Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-stevenson/) > [There was never a time you could get the majority of people in Alabama or Mississippi, or even southern Delaware, to vote to end…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-stevenson/there-was-never-a-time-you-could-get-the-majority-of-people-in/) [Bryan Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-stevenson/) > [I talk about my grandmother a lot, because she's an amazing person - not in some dramatic, distinct, unique way, but anybody who is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-stevenson/i-talk-about-my-grandmother-a-lot-because-she-s-an-amazing-person-not/) [Bryan Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-stevenson/) > [You can't understand what happened to Michael Brown in Ferguson, you can't understand what happened to Eric Garner in New York City, without understanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-stevenson/you-can-t-understand-what-happened-to-michael-brown-in-ferguson-you/) [Bryan Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-stevenson/) > [I know this might be broadcast broadly. But I'm 52 years old, and I'm going to admit to you that I've never had a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-stevenson/i-know-this-might-be-broadcast-broadly-but-i-m-52-years-old-and-i-m/) [Bryan Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-stevenson/) > [Are you the sum total of your worst acts?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-stevenson/are-you-the-sum-total-of-your-worst-acts/) [Bryan Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-stevenson/) > [If we want to be proud of our country, if we want to be proud as Americans, if we want to be proud of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-stevenson/if-we-want-to-be-proud-of-our-country-if-we-want-to-be-proud-as/) [Bryan Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-stevenson/) [Explore all 115 Bryan Stevenson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-stevenson/) ## More Business quotes > [Companies with cultures that celebrate diverse opinions and encourage the exchange of ideas have an advantage when solving difficult problems. A company that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-mcmillon/companies-with-cultures-that-celebrate-diverse-opinions-and-encourage/) [Doug McMillon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-mcmillon/) > [You can laugh at me, but I understand show business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ksenia-sobchak/you-can-laugh-at-me-but-i-understand-show-business/) [Ksenia Sobchak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ksenia-sobchak/) > [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [I'm a business first and foremost so whatever my business is, it's separate from my personal. It's like whatever I do business wise, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/snoop-dogg/i-m-a-business-first-and-foremost-so-whatever-my-business-is-it-s/) [Snoop Dogg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/snoop-dogg/) > [Many early-stage entrepreneurs make one simple mistake: Describing this 'big picture' in vague concepts and words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunil-nagaraj/many-early-stage-entrepreneurs-make-one-simple-mistake-describing/) [Sunil Nagaraj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunil-nagaraj/) > [Nobody has a crystal ball, and part of evolving a business plan is to say, 'I might have said we're going left, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-kavanaugh/nobody-has-a-crystal-ball-and-part-of-evolving-a-business-plan-is-to/) [Ryan Kavanaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-kavanaugh/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [ “\[S\]ometimes, when you are a food person, the possible irrelevance of what you are doing doesn’t cross your mind until it’s too late. (Once,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-ephron/s-ometimes-when-you-are-a-food-person-the-possible-irrelevance-of/) [Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-ephron/) > [If you have a different mindset, you will have a different outcome: if you make different choices from your peers, your life will then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-ma/if-you-have-a-different-mindset-you-will-have-a-different-outcome-if/) [Jack Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-ma/) > [“Some say the Earth is angry Because he wants no company; I say the Earth is angry Because he lives alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/some-say-the-earth-is-angry-because-he-wants-no-company-i-say-the/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [ If the State does not acquire supremacy over \[vast private\] enterprises, it becomes their puppet, and they become the real State. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/if-the-state-does-not-acquire-supremacy-over-vast-private-enterprises/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [It's not just that families can't buy a home or start a business without some savings tucked away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cooper/it-s-not-just-that-families-can-t-buy-a-home-or-start-a-business/) [Jim Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cooper/) > [I'm not into business at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-mercury/i-m-not-into-business-at-all/) [Freddie Mercury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-mercury/) > [I've long believed one of the mainsprings of our own liberty has been the widespread ownership of property among our people and the expectation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/i-ve-long-believed-one-of-the-mainsprings-of-our-own-liberty-has-been/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) [Browse all 39,016 Business quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Between 1990 and 2005, a new prison opened in the United States every ten days. Prison growth and the resulting “prison-industrial complex”—the business interests that capitalize on prison construction—made imprisonment so profitable that millions of dollars were spent lobbying state legislators to keep expanding the use of incarceration to respond to just about any problem. Incarceration became the answer to everything—health care problems like drug addiction, poverty that had led someone to write a bad check, child behavioral disorders, managing the mentally disabled poor, even immigration issues generated responses from legislators that involved sending people to prison. Never before had so much lobbying money been spent to expand America’s prison population, block sentencing reforms, create new crime categories, and sustain the fear and anger that fuel mass incarceration than during the last twenty-five years in the United States.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bryan Stevenson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-stevenson/between-1990-and-2005-a-new-prison-opened-in-the-united-states-every/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Business" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-stevenson/between-1990-and-2005-a-new-prison-opened-in-the-united-states-every/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b7/bryan-stevenson-4134_business_between-1990-and-2005-a-new-prison-opene_2562294.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b7/bryan-stevenson-4134_business_between-1990-and-2005-a-new-prison-opene_2562294.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b7/bryan-stevenson-4134_business_between-1990-and-2005-a-new-prison-opene_2562294.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Between 1990 and 2005, a new prison opened in the United States every ten days. Prison growth and the…” — Bryan Stevenson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Bryan Stevenson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-stevenson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Between 1990 and 2005, a new...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-stevenson/between-1990-and-2005-a-new-prison-opened-in-the-united-states-every/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-stevenson/between-1990-and-2005-a-new-prison-opened-in-the-united-states-every/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```