Prison For Pennies On The Dollar

A solution to the problem of prison costs.

Larry Joyce | October 22, 2026

Common sense tells us that crime would be lower if fewer criminals were walking free. Yet across the country, millions of offenders are on the street rather than behind bars. Some were never prosecuted. Others got probation, a light sentence, or parole when they should have stayed locked up.

The usual explanation is cost. Prisons are expensive, so states lock up only as many people as it takes to keep voters from getting up in arms about crime, and not one more.

Consider what new prison space costs today. Alabama just committed $1.3 billion to build two prisons holding 4,000 inmates each—more than $160,000 per bed. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is spending $950 million to acquire existing detention facilities with 2,644 beds—more than $350,000 per bed. At those prices, no state can afford to expand capacity in any serious way.

So, let’s approach incarceration from an entirely different angle.

A small used container ship, under 10,000 deadweight tons, can be bought for about $5 million. A used 40-foot shipping container costs around $1,250. Fitted with plumbing, wiring, insulation, drywall, ductwork, windows and doors, each container becomes a spartan (but decent) housing unit for roughly $8,500. With bunks stacked three-high in two rows along each side, one container would sleep about 30 inmates, and still have room for a shower, toilet, and sink.

A small ship holds about 250 such units, enough for roughly 7,500 inmates. The total cost of ship and housing is just over $7 million, or under $1,000 per inmate. Compare that with $160,000 in Alabama or $350,000 at DHS. The money........

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