I am enough of a sucker to interpret a one-word question as an argument, and I lack flagamuffin's enviable ability to shrug. I take your meaning to be that "capitalism" — shorthand for private firms — is somehow to blame for the horrors in the prison system.

Government bodies designate themselves solely in charge of criminal justice. Perhaps there are good reasons for entrusting this work to an effective monopoly.

State and federal justice czars choose to outsource some of their work to private firms. They offer contracts for such work. The motivation is invariably to save money. Private firms compete for this work, largely on the basis of cost, but also with bribery and nepotism, techniques that are rarely cost-effective in free markets but almost the norm in government contracting.

Does anyone believe that if the state offered contracts to reduce recidivism, improve mental health outcomes, or protect inmates from violence, that greedy, profit-hungry firms would not tender bids for the work because these goals are not evil enough? If the state does not deign to devote resources to these ends, it is absurd to blame "capitalism" for failing to use resources to pursue them.