Dead Prisoners Were More ProfitableHow a contract loophole created a crisis at sea

From the show

When Rewards Backfire

Incentives dictate behavior, often with disastrous results when metrics are misaligned. The British government discovered this the hard way when paying captains per prisoner boarded led to overcrowding and starvation. By shifting the financial reward to paying for convicts landed alive, they instantly realigned profit with human survival.