Today’s was a special market that occurred only once a year. These markets had been held for more than a decade now, and first came about when the government decided that there were too many prisoners in the nation's jails, that they were costing too much to maintain, and were producing nothing of value for society. Now, the prisons held mostly first offenders. With the exception of a few particularly uncontrollable recidivists, second and subsequent offenders were sold off to the highest bidder, to work off their sentences. It was a double bonus for the government, fewer prisoners meant lower running costs for the state, and the Department of Correction actually made a profit out of selling the unfortunate offenders off. There was some initial resistance to the new system, mainly from those who were concerned that criminals would be back out on the streets again, but once the pilot scheme established that the citizens would be safe, and the offenders would actually be worse off, it was difficult to find an objecting voice.Īt first, the prisoners were auctioned in the cities, but a cry from the country, stressing the need for cheap farm labor, meant that they system was soon extended to the smaller settlements.
