DN! US Debtor Prisons on the Rise

Report: Debtor Prisons on the Rise

New reports by the ACLU and the Brennan Center for Justice have found a sharp rise in debtor prisons across the country. Poor defendants are being jailed for failing to pay legal debts. In Ohio, a man named Howard Webb, who earns $7 an hour as a dishwasher, has served two stints in jail totaling over 300 days for being unable to pay nearly $3,000 in fines and costs from various criminal and traffic cases. In Michigan, a twenty-five-year-old single mother named Kawana Young has been jailed five times for being unable to afford to pay a few minor traffic tickets. Eric Balaban of the ACLU said, "Incarcerating people simply because they cannot afford to pay their legal debts is not only unconstitutional but also has a devastating impact upon men and women, whose only crime is that they are poor."

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[4teepee]

I accidentally deleted my prior post. I think the gist of it was that these days fines -- including ones for traffic violations -- are often exorbitant. Fines are being used as regressive taxation in order to keep taxes down on those who are well off. If you can, go to jail for a while instead of paying a fine. This costs the system money instead of bailing it out. And you are making a statement. I did it once while out of work. They only gave me credit for $50 per day.

[StartLoving3]

@4teepee, really excellent reminder. Thanks.