3 ms·

If he's in prison for life without the chance of parole, why does it matter to him if his debt is paid off?

deleted 4y ago
[deleted]
HyprMusic 4y ago
It's mentioned in the article. Any money he would earn in prison would go towards paying off his debt, so this allows him to earn whilst in there and make his life marginally more comfortable.
jumboshrimp 4y ago
There's a full paragraph in the article that answers this question.
giarc 4y ago
RTA: "But the repayment of his restitution could mean that he's able to earn money in prison to share with family or friends without it being seized or garnished to pay his debts—or even keep any previously unknown caches of bitcoins that he may possess, so long as they aren't tied to the Silk Road or other criminal sources."
that_guy_iain 4y ago
It basically means the money he gets while he is in prison he keeps. So if he works, he'll keep his salary. If someone puts money on his books, he gets to keep that. If he didn't keep up with his payments to his debt he would be on a more restricted regime. While it seems like a small thing for us, it's a pretty big deal for his quality of life since he was never going to pay that back so for the rest of his life he would have had less prison money than he earned.
jancsika 4y ago
chimeracoder 4y ago
Nobody is spelling the key point out: in prison, you are typically required to pay for basic essentials (everything from soap and shampoo to menstrual products[0]). Phone calls are run through a private company that has a monopoly and charges exorbitant rates. Entertainment (books, etc.) are heavily restricted and cost money - either directly or via secondhand trade. Prisoners work jobs that are exempt from minimum wage and can pay as little as 25¢/hour. Having your wages garnished while in prison is a huge deal because it limits your ability to take care of yourself (both literally, but also your ability to trade items with others for protection). If you don't have access to money in prison, you're screwed. Unless you have some other valuable asset (such as connections on the outside that you can leverage), you are likely to be a target for other inmates, and you're going to be a filthy, starving wreck. The exact details vary depending on the type of prison, the location, and other factors, but in general: having the debt wiped out would almost certainly be a huge deal for his quality of life in prison, and would literally extend his expected lifespan. [0] https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/03/25/prison-period-danger-health-risks-sexual-abuse/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/03/25/prison-pe...
- CuriouslyC 4y ago
  You aren't required to pay for basic supplies, prison commissaries periodically give out hardship packages which include things like sample packages of soap and toothpaste, since withholding basic hygiene products is cruel and unusual punishment. Garnishing prison wages is fucking brutal and stupid though. Prison laborers typically make less than a quarter per hour, so that isn't going to do shit in terms of repaying any debts, it's just a spite play to make someone's life miserable. Honestly, if I was Ross I'd refuse to leave my cell and act insane till I got placed in solitary. In most prisons you can still have books in solitary, you just lose out on yard and TV access, which is still a great trade if you're getting regularly beaten and hate raped.
  - chimeracoder 4y ago
    > You aren't required to pay for basic supplies, prison commissaries periodically give out hardship packages which include things like sample packages of soap and toothpaste, since withholding basic hygiene products is cruel and unusual punishment You're describing the idealized scenario, which isn't exactly wrong, but it doesn't represent the reality that many prisoners actually live in. Yes, it varies - not every prisoner will have the same experience, even within the same prison - but having access to basic necessities is by no means a given in prison, and having wages garnished makes that much harder. https://www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2021/11/18/indigence/ https://www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2021/11/18/indigence/
nathanvanfleet 4y ago
You can definitely read the article to learn more about how it might affect him

deleted 4y ago

[deleted]

It's mentioned in the article. Any money he would earn in prison would go towards paying off his debt, so this allows him to earn whilst in there and make his life marginally more comfortable.

jumboshrimp 4y ago

There's a full paragraph in the article that answers this question.

giarc 4y ago

RTA: "But the repayment of his restitution could mean that he's able to earn money in prison to share with family or friends without it being seized or garnished to pay his debts—or even keep any previously unknown caches of bitcoins that he may possess, so long as they aren't tied to the Silk Road or other criminal sources."

that_guy_iain 4y ago

It basically means the money he gets while he is in prison he keeps. So if he works, he'll keep his salary. If someone puts money on his books, he gets to keep that. If he didn't keep up with his payments to his debt he would be on a more restricted regime. While it seems like a small thing for us, it's a pretty big deal for his quality of life since he was never going to pay that back so for the rest of his life he would have had less prison money than he earned.

jancsika 4y ago

chimeracoder 4y ago

Nobody is spelling the key point out: in prison, you are typically required to pay for basic essentials (everything from soap and shampoo to menstrual products[0]). Phone calls are run through a private company that has a monopoly and charges exorbitant rates. Entertainment (books, etc.) are heavily restricted and cost money - either directly or via secondhand trade. Prisoners work jobs that are exempt from minimum wage and can pay as little as 25¢/hour. Having your wages garnished while in prison is a huge deal because it limits your ability to take care of yourself (both literally, but also your ability to trade items with others for protection). If you don't have access to money in prison, you're screwed. Unless you have some other valuable asset (such as connections on the outside that you can leverage), you are likely to be a target for other inmates, and you're going to be a filthy, starving wreck. The exact details vary depending on the type of prison, the location, and other factors, but in general: having the debt wiped out would almost certainly be a huge deal for his quality of life in prison, and would literally extend his expected lifespan. [0] https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/03/25/prison-period-danger-health-risks-sexual-abuse/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/03/25/prison-pe...

CuriouslyC 4y ago
You aren't required to pay for basic supplies, prison commissaries periodically give out hardship packages which include things like sample packages of soap and toothpaste, since withholding basic hygiene products is cruel and unusual punishment. Garnishing prison wages is fucking brutal and stupid though. Prison laborers typically make less than a quarter per hour, so that isn't going to do shit in terms of repaying any debts, it's just a spite play to make someone's life miserable. Honestly, if I was Ross I'd refuse to leave my cell and act insane till I got placed in solitary. In most prisons you can still have books in solitary, you just lose out on yard and TV access, which is still a great trade if you're getting regularly beaten and hate raped.
- chimeracoder 4y ago
  > You aren't required to pay for basic supplies, prison commissaries periodically give out hardship packages which include things like sample packages of soap and toothpaste, since withholding basic hygiene products is cruel and unusual punishment You're describing the idealized scenario, which isn't exactly wrong, but it doesn't represent the reality that many prisoners actually live in. Yes, it varies - not every prisoner will have the same experience, even within the same prison - but having access to basic necessities is by no means a given in prison, and having wages garnished makes that much harder. https://www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2021/11/18/indigence/ https://www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2021/11/18/indigence/

nathanvanfleet 4y ago

You can definitely read the article to learn more about how it might affect him