Can Privatization Kill?

A op-ed piece in today's New York Times, entitled "Can Privatization Kill?," focuses on the privatization of detention and deportation services in the US and the UK. The op-ed, which begins by describing the death of a deportee from Britain named Jimmy Mubenga at the hands of three private contractors, pulls no punches. The author's conclusion:

Today, government outsourcing has given rise to an industry that encompasses nearly every aspect of migration management in countries across the globe. This shift comes at a price: It eliminates government accountability and runs roughshod over the rights of those subjected to private corporations’ control. And unless governments reassert control over what used to be a core sovereign function of the state, many more Jimmy Mubengas are likely to die.