> Innocence doesn't mean that you didn't use the service. Should the taxpayers foot the bill? Of course the tax payer should pay. The criminal justice system i

> Innocence doesn't mean that you didn't use the service. Should the taxpayers foot the bill? Of course the tax payer should pay. The criminal justice system is a service of society. The tax payer receives that benefit and as well pays its costs. I'm really not sure what role and responsibilities people expect government to have in society. What's next, start charging innocent people room and board for the period they were locked in jail, because they used that "service"? The govt is not a business. Its purpose it not to make money, nor extract money from people charged with crimes. We don't want a society where you pay police each time they come to your house. Capitalism isn't the end goal of society, it's a tool. I see way to many people on HN (not you specifically) where it seems the only tool they know of to solve a problem is "hmm.. I'll try to apply capitalism to that". It is possible to frame every interaction in society as s product or service. The fact that we can doesn't mean we should. I frequently see people caught up in the "technical problem solving" of how to transform something else into a buying and selling transaction with zero foresight into motivation or consequences of doing so.