this post was submitted on 02 May 2024
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Today I Learned

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Very weird that I am so old and have literally never heard this mentioned in a TV show or book or movie or anything.

In four out of five states, if you go to prison, you are literally paying for the time you spend there.

As you can guess, this results in crippling debt as soon as you're released.

The county gets back a fraction of what they hold over your head the rest of your life until you commit suicide(or die naturally and peacefully with the sword of damocles hanging over your head).

$20-$80 a day according to Rutgers.

Counties apparently sue people and employ wage garnishment to get back the money that majority of people obviously cannot pay back.

https://www.rutgers.edu/news/states-unfairly-burdening-incarcerated-people-pay-stay-fees

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 6 months ago (1 children)

it's sad and conspicuous that all of the reasons you hear about these days that would actually justify going out and killing terrible people mostly all involve things the American government has done or permitted. Truly the driving force for evil in the world.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 6 months ago

They're barely a 200-year-old country; relevant for roughly 80 of those years, the states are not the ultimate driving force of anything, and certainly not a vague concept like evil.

This specific issue is a failing on part of its citizenry, in company of many failings, but the country is not a static moment in time defined by its failings.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 6 months ago (1 children)

Believe it or not if you can't pay.. straight to jail

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 months ago (1 children)

And then if you can't pay after you get out, they'll sue you. I can't find evidence that you'll go back to jail, but I'm sure it's happened.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 1 points 6 months ago

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[–] [email protected] 28 points 6 months ago (1 children)

I read the wiki page. Pretty barebones, but it did link to https://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-34705968

In theory, I could entertain an argument about having criminals repay some of the costs of dealing with them, that's not what's going on here.

The sum that is able to be collected doesn't go straight into the county coffers, either - the jail contracts with a company

The jail gets 30%, the company gets 70%.

It really just looks like just another way to exploit prisoners for profit.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 6 months ago

Yeah, that's what the Rutgers article at the bottom of my post was for, more context.

There is no doubt that the prisons are using pay for stay as an excuse to hoover up more money from the most vulnerable populations.

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