Critics of private prisons argue that imprisonment is an exclusively governmental function that may not be delegated. They also assert that 'justice and profits don't mix.' However, the author notes that the authority of the State to imprison is derived originally from the consent of the governed and may therefore, with similar consent, be delegated further. The author observes that the authority to imprison is not owned by the State and is not an absolute authority, but subject to the provisions of law, whether it is exercised by salaried State employees or by contracted agents. Discussing the characteristics and motives of State penal agencies, the author concludes that they are not intrinsically more disposed to doing justice than are profit-making penal agencies. 11 footnotes.