This article exposes a practice whereby some offenders pay for serving their sentences in facilities that might be described as luxurious. It is further evidence of the tiered society that is developing, where, the justice system does not treat those with wealth the same as those without – including some violent criminals. Of particular interest is that the option to serve a sentence in a pay jail are given based on judges, and none wanted to share how they determined who gets the options for pay jails.
Upgrade your jail cell – for a price, Some people convicted of serious crimes pay for better digs
In what is commonly called “pay-to-stay” or “private jail,” a constellation of small city jails — at least 26 of them in Los Angeles and Orange counties — open their doors to defendants who can afford the option. But what started out as an antidote to overcrowding has evolved into a two-tiered justice system that allows people convicted of serious crimes to buy their way into safer and more comfortable jail stays.
An analysis by the Marshall Project and the Los Angeles Times of the more than 3,500 people who served time in Southern California’s pay-to-stay programs from 2011 through 2015 found more than 160 participants who had been convicted of serious crimes including assault, robbery, domestic violence, battery, sexual assault, sexual abuse of children and possession of child pornography.
h/t williamsates