2 ms·
> The Mississippi Department of Corrections, or MDOC, repeatedly declined our requests to visit the restitution centers and to discuss them with state officials
by ShroudedNight 7y ago
> The Mississippi Department of Corrections, or MDOC, repeatedly declined our requests to visit the restitution centers and to discuss them with state officials. But in a statement issued in late December in response to our findings, the department noted that it follows state law when operating the restitution program.
If this program were one of integrity and justice, it should not have a problem exposing its complete workings to its citizens. Notwithstanding the possibility of unreported history here, this stinks.
>Darrell Bridges says he earned almost $2,000 working at Checkers during his stint in the Pascagoula Restitution Center in 2013. But the money was never applied to the $3,403 debt he owed from an attempted robbery when he was 17, records show.
>As a worker makes money, the corrections department takes the first cut in room and board, then usually holds the remaining earnings until there’s enough to pay the entire debt. When someone leaves the program, the corrections department sends their earnings to the court to cover its costs. It distributes the rest to victims, then to pay criminal fines.
Indefinite debt bondage is unjust in any form, but the state and its agents reserving for itself the lion share of this feast of blood and life is especially reprehensible.
- Clubber 7y agoSadly, this happens in a lot of states. If you owe a fine and don't pay it because you can't, they'll keep tacking on interest until it reaches a certain limit, then throw you in jail. Our current state of government scares the hell out of me.
- csense 7y agoWhat's the alternative? Fines and jail are basically the legal system's two main options for punishment. If a poor person commits a crime, that's not serious enough to throw them in jail, what should the legal system do? It seems like "If you're poor, you can commit non-felony crimes without consequences" seems like a REAL bad policy idea.
- Clubber 7y agoDepends. If it's car related, revoke the license until the payment is made. Maybe do what the debt collectors do and harass them on the phone or garnish wages. Another thought, maybe we shouldn't make so many things crimes. We only do it to pay for the obscenely large justice and policing system. To me it just seems like a jobs program with a very steep societal cost. I would think throwing someone in jail who owes money for a fine is very counter productive, considering how much it costs to incarcerate and jail someone. It's like spending $5000 to not collect a $500 debt. We aren't very good at government.