Tuesday, June 14, 2005

$12.68 -- That's Without the Tip

In its continuing effort to blunt criticisms of detainee treatment at Gitmo, the Bush administration's touting the dandy detainee dining options.

Taxpayers spend about $12.68 a day feeding each prisoner held at the prison built at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. That's about four times the cost of food for an inmate in a regular federal prison.

Here are some prison menu prices per day around the country, courtesy of Knight Ridder News Service:

Gitmo: $12.68
Fort Leavenworth: $6.02 - $8.17
US Navy Brig, Charleston, SC: $7.46
Dade County Jail, Florida: $2.19

It's cheaper feeding the guards than it is the prisoners at Gitmo. US personnel eat about $8.25 worth of food a day. The high cost is blamed on special needs foods shipped to a remote location. (Knight-Ridder News Service)

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