8 ms·
It’s a bit more complex than that and has a bunch of edge cases. For example, in most of the states, there are prisons that are pay-to-stay, so prisoners basic
by kredd 3y ago
It’s a bit more complex than that and has a bunch of edge cases.
For example, in most of the states, there are prisons that are pay-to-stay, so prisoners basically go in debt while they’re incarcerated. This further troubles their debts, putting more pressure on them to take on work. Part of this debt can be written off by working on specific jobs that are sourced by local employers. There was a case of a woman I read about, how she’s paying off her pay-to-stay prison debt working at a wings place part time, while serving her sentence.
Since every state has its own laws and complexities, you get a bunch of scenarios that add up, which, in my opinion, are highly immoral.
- rightbyte 3y agoUhm ... how can prisons be pay to stay? Do you get a worse prison if you don't pay?
- tsunamifury 3y agoYes actually.
- dfxm12 3y agoYou may be interested in reading up on the prison industrial complex: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prison%E2%80%93industrial_complex https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prison%E2%80%93industrial_comp...
- kredd 3y agoI'm genuinely not kidding, as a non-American who has some family living in US, some of that just sounds absolutely bizarre. However I'm not that sure about its intricacies. But keep in mind, going to prison for having debt is also a thing in the states. So not paying up your dues can eventually roll you back into the system. But yeah, pay-to-stay imprisonment is a thing - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pay-to-stay_(imprisonment) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pay-to-stay_(imprisonment).
- rootusrootus 3y ago> going to prison for having debt is also a thing in the states LOL no, except for some narrow definition of debt which only counts criminal activity. Foreigners are so credulous when it comes to what they hear about the US.
- kredd 3y agoI did very quick Googling, and my memory was based on reading these two [1] [2], I'm not entirely sure how are these correlated to criminal activities. Obviously, it's all nuanced and depends on each state, but don't mind being corrected: [1] https://www.npr.org/2020/01/16/797098376/investigation-finds-mississippis-restitution-centers-act-like-debtors-prisons https://www.npr.org/2020/01/16/797098376/investigation-finds... [2] https://www.dw.com/en/a-world-of-debt-over-300-trillion-and-counting/a-67204039 https://www.dw.com/en/a-world-of-debt-over-300-trillion-and-... - part about the woman in Missisipi
- rootusrootus 3y agoAnnita Husband was imprisoned for embezzlement and placed under the supervision of a restitution center until she completed that. Her debt, as it were, was to the State of Mississippi. Similar with the other example. These are people who are required to have a job so they can pay restitution, and if they refuse to get a job they can be imprisoned as one possible punishment. Regular people who are in debt do not face debtor's prison in the US, this is not a feature of the bankruptcy courts. Debtors prisons were more common in the distant past, and especially a thing in Europe.
- kredd 3y agoI’m sorry, but if you’re forced to stay at a place until you pay off your debt, how is that “not a debt prison”? You can call it “restitution center”, but… c’mon. They’re not being sent there because of their other crimes, but specifically because they need to pay off their debt. I’m not saying they’re going into a supermax or something, but their freedom is actively being restricted, because they have not paid their debt.