Progressive groups like the National Prison Project of the American Civil Liberties Union have campaigned against it at State and Federal levels. In Britain, where the State has managed and controlled all prisons from the center since 1877, virtually the entire penal lobby has opposed privatization. The main thrust of criticism was directed at privatization per se, at the very idea that the State might take such a determined step back from directing and controlling the penal apparatus. This is a complex and at times overlapping debate and one which involves ethical, legal, and political considerations which belong to the public domain. This evaluation of the American experience is lacking in one crucial dimension, the offender's voice. What offenders feel about being guarded by those on a private payroll obviously matters, however, this gap has not been filled due to obstacles in conducting systematic enquiries. 387 notes and index