4 ms·

>many American ex-cons are required to pay restitution for their incarceration Hold the phone, people get sent to prison then get to pay for that privilege once

by tpxl 8y ago

>many American ex-cons are required to pay restitution for their incarceration Hold the phone, people get sent to prison then get to pay for that privilege once released? Do you have any further reading on that?

hackermailman 8y ago
Some states charge, for example prison health care, TDCJ/Texas will give you a bill upon release or skim your commissary account for payments. There's barely a state budget for prisons and voters don't want to pay for it, meaning political suicide if you're giving tax dollars to convicts.
- SketchySeaBeast 8y ago
  > There's barely a state budget for prisons and voters don't want to pay for it But boy do they love watching people get locked up. What a bad approach for treating the ills of society. Let's lock people up at the drop of the hat, make it the most miserable thing possible, and then expect them to come out well adjusted and fully functional. People went to jail because they were neither of those things before hand. But I guess as long as the prison system gets to turn a couple of bucks it makes it all worth it, right?
danielvf 8y ago
I did a little research. It's definitely not something I've ever heard of in my state. Looks likes this is mostly in Ohio? Apparently in the 1990's, almost all Ohio counties rolled this out. It's been being rolled back ever since. As of a few years ago, only 40 jails in the state charge these fees. Of these, the most expensive six jails charge between $50-$60 per night, 5 charge between $20-48, Some charge $1-$2 per night. $17 Ohio jails charge a booking fee only, usually $10 but up to $40. Some California cities have a pay-for-a-nicer prison scheme, but that's not really the same thing.
- jessaustin 8y ago
  A few years ago when I was on jury duty, the primary business underway in the "County Justice Complex" seemed to be poor folks making payments on their jail stays. A real issue for some of them was making payments quickly enough to avoid additional jail stays, with the additional penury inherent in missing more work and having to pay more jail fees. This is in Missouri, a state more famed for its many injustices than Ohio is. We'd be safer and happier if we fired 75% of our LEOs tomorrow.
  - danielvf 8y ago
    Wow, Missouri's setup with this sounds awful! Unlike Ohio, which only has some mostly short stay jails that charge, Missouri charges statewide, and for prison, which averages six months to two years for an exiting inmate. Unbelievable! https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/news/2017/may/5/missouri-prisoners-vexed-bills-incarceration-costs/ https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/news/2017/may/5/missouri-pri... (As to firing LEO's, I think the research shows that there is a pretty clear correlation between more officers and less crime. So I'm not with you on that one.)
    - jessaustin 8y ago
      I haven't seen any of that research. Overall crime levels are correlated mostly with demographics. A good case has also been made that the prevalence of lead in childhood environments is a leading indicator of crime, but that is also a mostly demographic observation. Incidentally, if you're looking at violent crime at the state level to convince yourself that overpolicing is not a problem, you're missing out on the fact that St. Louis has the highest murder rate in the nation, and #13 in the world. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_by_murder_rate https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_by_murder_rate
twiton 8y ago
Pay-to-stay: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pay-to-stay_(imprisonment) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pay-to-stay_(imprisonment)

by tpxl 8y ago

hackermailman 8y ago

Some states charge, for example prison health care, TDCJ/Texas will give you a bill upon release or skim your commissary account for payments. There's barely a state budget for prisons and voters don't want to pay for it, meaning political suicide if you're giving tax dollars to convicts.

SketchySeaBeast 8y ago
> There's barely a state budget for prisons and voters don't want to pay for it But boy do they love watching people get locked up. What a bad approach for treating the ills of society. Let's lock people up at the drop of the hat, make it the most miserable thing possible, and then expect them to come out well adjusted and fully functional. People went to jail because they were neither of those things before hand. But I guess as long as the prison system gets to turn a couple of bucks it makes it all worth it, right?

danielvf 8y ago

I did a little research. It's definitely not something I've ever heard of in my state. Looks likes this is mostly in Ohio? Apparently in the 1990's, almost all Ohio counties rolled this out. It's been being rolled back ever since. As of a few years ago, only 40 jails in the state charge these fees. Of these, the most expensive six jails charge between $50-$60 per night, 5 charge between $20-48, Some charge $1-$2 per night. $17 Ohio jails charge a booking fee only, usually $10 but up to $40. Some California cities have a pay-for-a-nicer prison scheme, but that's not really the same thing.

jessaustin 8y ago
A few years ago when I was on jury duty, the primary business underway in the "County Justice Complex" seemed to be poor folks making payments on their jail stays. A real issue for some of them was making payments quickly enough to avoid additional jail stays, with the additional penury inherent in missing more work and having to pay more jail fees. This is in Missouri, a state more famed for its many injustices than Ohio is. We'd be safer and happier if we fired 75% of our LEOs tomorrow.
- danielvf 8y ago
  Wow, Missouri's setup with this sounds awful! Unlike Ohio, which only has some mostly short stay jails that charge, Missouri charges statewide, and for prison, which averages six months to two years for an exiting inmate. Unbelievable! https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/news/2017/may/5/missouri-prisoners-vexed-bills-incarceration-costs/ https://www.prisonlegalnews.org/news/2017/may/5/missouri-pri... (As to firing LEO's, I think the research shows that there is a pretty clear correlation between more officers and less crime. So I'm not with you on that one.)
  - jessaustin 8y ago
    I haven't seen any of that research. Overall crime levels are correlated mostly with demographics. A good case has also been made that the prevalence of lead in childhood environments is a leading indicator of crime, but that is also a mostly demographic observation. Incidentally, if you're looking at violent crime at the state level to convince yourself that overpolicing is not a problem, you're missing out on the fact that St. Louis has the highest murder rate in the nation, and #13 in the world. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_by_murder_rate https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_by_murder_rate

twiton 8y ago

Pay-to-stay: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pay-to-stay_(imprisonment) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pay-to-stay_(imprisonment)