3 ms·

Here's a good article on the issue of debtors prison. I find it particularly telling that putting someone in actual jail for failure to pay a debt is considere

Here's a good article on the issue of debtors prison. I find it particularly telling that putting someone in actual jail for failure to pay a debt is considered a human rights violation. IMHO, if someone is capable of paying and isn't, the most action which should be taken is to garnish their wages. https://www.themarshallproject.org/2015/02/24/debtors-prisons-then-and-now-faq#.anUSMTyFL https://www.themarshallproject.org/2015/02/24/debtors-prison...

Lawtonfogle 11y ago
The problem is that there is no absolute objective way to determine if someone is able to pay. For example, the court may rule that a person is working reduced wages so they do not have to pay as much, and thus they are required to get a better job. I read of a few cases where this happened in regards to child support during the economic downturn with the court not correctly judging the ability of a person to get a new job at the same level as a previous job they held.
DanBC 11y ago
Here's a BBC Radio Four programme that talks about the small towns in Missouri and their excessive use of traffic violations as a revenue generating scheme. It's a good programme, and worth a lsiten. (As are others in the series!) http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05pqskm http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05pqskm > Are excessive traffic fines and debtors' jails fuelling community tensions in suburban Missouri? Claire Bolderson reports on a network of ninety separate cities in St Louis County, most of which have their own courts and police forces. Critics say that their size makes them financially unviable and allege that some of them boost their incomes by fining their own citizens and locking them up when they can't pay. > This edition of Crossing Continents goes out and about in St Louis County to meet the people who say they are victims of a system which sees arrest warrants issued for relatively minor misdemeanours. Many of the victims are poor and black. The programme also takes us into the courts, and out onto the freeways with some of the County's police, who say they are upholding the law and promoting road safety. > The US government is not so sure. One of the towns in question is Ferguson where riots erupted after a white police officer shot a young black man dead last summer. In a recent report on the riots, the Department of Justice concluded that the Ferguson police had been stopping people for no good reason. It said they were putting revenue before public safety. > Claire Bolderson investigates how widespread the practice is and considers the impact on relations between citizens and the authorities that govern them.
- maxerickson 11y ago
  Things have at least taken a step in the right direction after the attention brought to Ferguson: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/muni-court-reform-law-takes-effect-friday-many-warrants-fines/article_a790197b-b58b-548a-9616-934a36649358.html http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/muni-cou... I think the problems are deeper than how much of a municipal budget can come from fines though.

Lawtonfogle 11y ago

The problem is that there is no absolute objective way to determine if someone is able to pay. For example, the court may rule that a person is working reduced wages so they do not have to pay as much, and thus they are required to get a better job. I read of a few cases where this happened in regards to child support during the economic downturn with the court not correctly judging the ability of a person to get a new job at the same level as a previous job they held.

DanBC 11y ago

Here's a BBC Radio Four programme that talks about the small towns in Missouri and their excessive use of traffic violations as a revenue generating scheme. It's a good programme, and worth a lsiten. (As are others in the series!) http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05pqskm http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b05pqskm > Are excessive traffic fines and debtors' jails fuelling community tensions in suburban Missouri? Claire Bolderson reports on a network of ninety separate cities in St Louis County, most of which have their own courts and police forces. Critics say that their size makes them financially unviable and allege that some of them boost their incomes by fining their own citizens and locking them up when they can't pay. > This edition of Crossing Continents goes out and about in St Louis County to meet the people who say they are victims of a system which sees arrest warrants issued for relatively minor misdemeanours. Many of the victims are poor and black. The programme also takes us into the courts, and out onto the freeways with some of the County's police, who say they are upholding the law and promoting road safety. > The US government is not so sure. One of the towns in question is Ferguson where riots erupted after a white police officer shot a young black man dead last summer. In a recent report on the riots, the Department of Justice concluded that the Ferguson police had been stopping people for no good reason. It said they were putting revenue before public safety. > Claire Bolderson investigates how widespread the practice is and considers the impact on relations between citizens and the authorities that govern them.

maxerickson 11y ago
Things have at least taken a step in the right direction after the attention brought to Ferguson: http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/muni-court-reform-law-takes-effect-friday-many-warrants-fines/article_a790197b-b58b-548a-9616-934a36649358.html http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/muni-cou... I think the problems are deeper than how much of a municipal budget can come from fines though.