Judges Plead Guilty to Jailing Kids for Kickbacks

A strange story of judges taking bribes to fill up child care facilities by sentencing juveniles. One of the juveniles was Berandine Wallace, 14, who was jailed for creating a spoof MySpace page mocking her school assistant principal.

Judges plead guilty to jailing kids for kickbacks • The Register:

"Two corrupt judges have admitted getting paid for sending young offenders to private jails, often against the advice of probation officers and other court officials.

Bent judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan, both of Pennsylvania, admitted receiving $2.6m in kickbacks as part of a plea-bargaining agreement that will see each jailed for a minimum of seven years. The deal sparked protests from friends and relatives of youngsters affected by the case, some of who have already launched lawsuits. [...]"