After she pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor of “frequenting a place where controlled substances were used, sold, or manufactured,” an Idaho court imposed a bill of $683.50 in fines and fees. Her lawyer—who had been appointed by the court because Beck couldn’t afford to hire one—asked that the costs be waived or reduced, given Beck’s tough financial circumstances. The judge refused. When Beck failed to make payments, the court issued a warrant for her arrest. She spent seven days in jail waiting to see the judge. Charged with a new crime of “contempt” for not paying, the judge sentenced Beck to time served in jail, again ordered her to pay costs, and reminded her that if she didn’t, she would continue to face new arrests, detentions, and contempt convictions.
I fucking hate how these assholes can run around with millions in debt, yet some average Joe will be in prison because they can’t pay a 500$ fine…
Wish it weren’t that way. I have family in my life that went to jail over bills (related to a video rental) in Indiana, this century. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debtors’_prison#:~:text=While the United States no,fee imposed in criminal judgments.
As intended, the revolving door of minor fines is a huge aggregate revenue stream
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Why Are We Still Sending People to Jail for Being Poor? It’s Time to Truly Abolish Debtors’ Prisons
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You’re making a semantic argument?
OK
It’s a pretty important distinction.
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The real prison is the prison of your mind man
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Oh sweet summer child…