Jailed for $280: The Return of Debtors' Prisons - GoFuckYourself.com

Barefootsies · 04-23-2012, 07:05 PM

As if the U.S. did not have enough of it's population in prison/jail for foolishness.

Quote:

How did breast cancer survivor Lisa Lindsay end up behind bars? She didn't pay a medical bill -- one the Herrin, Ill., teaching assistant was told she didn't owe. "She got a $280 medical bill in error and was told she didn't have to pay it," The Associated Press reports. "But the bill was turned over to a collection agency, and eventually state troopers showed up at her home and took her to jail in handcuffs."

Although the U.S. abolished debtors' prisons in the 1830s, more than a third of U.S. states allow the police to haul people in who don't pay all manner of debts, from bills for health care services to credit card and auto loans. In parts of Illinois, debt collectors commonly use publicly funded courts, sheriff's deputies, and country jails to pressure people who owe even small amounts to pay up, according to the AP.

Under the law, debtors aren't arrested for nonpayment, but rather for failing to respond to court hearings, pay legal fines, or otherwise showing "contempt of court" in connection with a creditor lawsuit. That loophole has lawmakers in the Illinois House of Representatives concerned enough to pass a bill in March that would make it illegal to send residents of the state to jail if they can't pay a debt. The measure awaits action in the senate.

"Creditors have been manipulating the court system to extract money from the unemployed, veterans, even seniors who rely solely on their benefits to get by each month," Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan said last month in a statement voicing support for the legislation. "Too many people have been thrown in jail simply because they're too poor to pay their debts. We cannot allow these illegal abuses to continue."

Debt collectors typically avoid filing suit against debtors, a representative with the Illinois Collectors Association tells the AP. "A consumer that has been arrested or jailed can't pay a debt. We want to work with consumers to resolve issues," he said.

Yet Illinois isn't the only state where residents get locked up for owing money. A 2010 report by the American Civil Liberties Union that focused on only five states -- Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Washington -- found that people were being jailed at "increasingly alarming rates" over legal debts. Cases ranged from a woman who was arrested four separate times for failing to pay $251 in fines and court costs related to a fourth-degree misdemeanor conviction, to a mentally ill juvenile jailed by a judge over a previous conviction for stealing school supplies.

According to the ACLU: "The sad truth is that debtors' prisons are flourishing today, more than two decades after the Supreme Court prohibited imprisoning those who are too poor to pay their legal debts. In this era of shrinking budgets, state and local governments have turned aggressively to using the threat and reality of imprisonment to squeeze revenue out of the poorest defendants who appear in their courts."

Some states also apply "poverty penalties," including late fees, payment plan fees, and interest when people are unable to pay all their debts at once, according to a report by the New York University's Brennan Center for Justice. Alabama charges a 30 percent collection fee, for instance, while Florida allows private debt collectors to add a 40 percent surcharge on the original debt. Some Florida counties also use so-called collection courts, where debtors can be jailed but have no right to a public defender.

"Many states are imposing new and often onerous 'user fees' on individuals with criminal convictions," the authors of the Brennan Center report wrote. "Yet far from being easy money, these fees impose severe -- and often hidden -- costs on communities, taxpayers, and indigent people convicted of crimes. They create new paths to prison for those unable to pay their debts and make it harder to find employment and housing as well to meet child-support obligations."

Such practices, heightened in recent years by the effects of the recession, amount to criminalizing poverty, say critics in urging federal authorities to intervene. "More people are unemployed, more people are struggling financially, and more creditors are trying to get their debt paid," Madigan told the AP.

FULL STORY

TMM_John · 04-23-2012, 07:17 PM

Pretending someone went to jail for a debt of $280 when in reality they went for ignoring demands by a court is a bit of a stretch, but par for the course for today's news media.

BIGTYMER · 04-23-2012, 07:17 PM

I'd expect nothing less from this great country.

baddog · 04-23-2012, 07:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TMM_John

Pretending someone went to jail for a debt of $280 when in reality they went for ignoring demands by a court is a bit of a stretch, but par for the course for today's news media.

That makes for a crappy headline (or thread title). Would not get many views.

Brujah · 04-23-2012, 07:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TMM_John

Pretending someone went to jail for a debt of $280 when in reality they went for ignoring demands by a court is a bit of a stretch, but par for the course for today's news media.

It also said: "Some Florida counties also use so-called collection courts, where debtors can be jailed but have no right to a public defender." among other facts that seem to indicate the concept of a debtor's prison is still very much alive in the U.S.

raymor · 04-23-2012, 07:53 PM

Quote:

or failing to pay $251 in fines and court costs related to a fourth-degree misdemeanor conviction, to a mentally ill juvenile jailed by a judge over a previous conviction for stealing school supplies.

Arrested for committing a crime, then not paying the fine. Not exactly good examples to back up the article's claim. Debtor's peison is not the same as being arrested for CRIME.

FreeHugeMovies · 04-23-2012, 08:51 PM

Dumb post. Very misleading.

L-Pink · 04-23-2012, 09:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnnyClips

It is not a crime

A crime is invading a country and killing hundreds of thousands of people

Give it a fucking rest or find an audience that gives a shit.

.

Mr Pheer · 04-23-2012, 09:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnnyClips

It is not a crime

A crime is invading a country and killing hundreds of thousands of people

Too bad being a fucking stupid retard isnt a crime.

Mutt · 04-23-2012, 10:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TMM_John

Pretending someone went to jail for a debt of $280 when in reality they went for ignoring demands by a court is a bit of a stretch, but par for the course for today's news media.

I could just as easily say to you 'par for the course today's news readers'.

The article explains that those who are sent to jail are sent for 'contempt of court' not for not paying their debts. Nothing disingenuous about the article. It includes an opinion from the ACLU that what's going on is tantamount to the return of debtor's prisons. Also includes that the Illinois House of Representatives view the practice the same and are passing legislation that will stop people from being sent to jail in these situations.

videoscribe · 04-24-2012, 08:41 AM

The health issues are important. Some of these guys survive a long time (outside of jail or inside jail). Hopefully cancer can be decreased. It is important to pay bills. It seems like something of the jail system can be about whether the prisoner is a rich man or not. For example, a certain sum of money can bail them out of jail.

_Richard_ · 04-24-2012, 08:51 AM

Paper_Amar · 04-24-2012, 08:57 AM

Privatized prisons - Welcome to the future!

baddog · 04-24-2012, 10:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mutt

I could just as easily say to you 'par for the course today's news readers'.

The article explains that those who are sent to jail are sent for 'contempt of court' not for not paying their debts. Nothing disingenuous about the article. It includes an opinion from the ACLU that what's going on is tantamount to the return of debtor's prisons. Also includes that the Illinois House of Representatives view the practice the same and are passing legislation that will stop people from being sent to jail in these situations.

Oh, well if the ACLU says it is true, it must be.

And Johnny Clips,

idiot

04-23-2012, 07:17 PM	#2
TMM_John Confirmed User Industry Role: Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 6,658	Pretending someone went to jail for a debt of $280 when in reality they went for ignoring demands by a court is a bit of a stretch, but par for the course for today's news media. __________________ Skype: JohnA1078 Too Much Media - Makers of the Industry's Leading Payite Management Platform, NATS!

04-24-2012, 08:57 AM	#13
Paper_Amar Confirmed User Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: North Miami Beach, Fl Posts: 2,607	Privatized prisons - Welcome to the future! __________________ My icq; 4 4 7 5 4 2 1 2 8 Amar @ paper street cash .com

04-23-2012, 07:17 PM	#3
BIGTYMER Junior Achiever Industry Role: Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Walled Garden Posts: 17,066	I'd expect nothing less from this great country.

04-23-2012, 08:51 PM	#7
FreeHugeMovies Too lazy to set a custom title Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Charlotte, NC Posts: 14,137	Dumb post. Very misleading.

04-24-2012, 08:41 AM	#11
videoscribe Banned by fatfoo Industry Role: Join Date: Apr 2012 Posts: 362	The health issues are important. Some of these guys survive a long time (outside of jail or inside jail). Hopefully cancer can be decreased. It is important to pay bills. It seems like something of the jail system can be about whether the prisoner is a rich man or not. For example, a certain sum of money can bail them out of jail.

04-24-2012, 08:51 AM	#12
_Richard_ Too lazy to set a custom title Industry Role: Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Vancouver Posts: 30,986