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Suzanimal
12-28-2014, 11:52 PM
Video at link

Return of the debtors’ prison? Many still jailed for inability to pay fines


TRANSCRIPT
JOHN CARLOS FREY: Timothy Fugatt, the minister of music at this church near Childersburg, Alabama, says that it’s his deep faith in God that got him through some tough times. His son, Cole, was born with a rare brain disease.

TIM FUGATT: The spheres in his brain didn’t divide properly. So pretty much when you look through a CT scan, it was nothin’ but fluid.

JOHN CARLOS FREY: But life got even tougher after a seemingly minor incident in December of 2010 when he was pulled over by police and ticketed for an expired license plate tag.

TIM FUGATT: I was coming from the hospital where had been staying with Cole there in the hospital. And as I come into town, they had– a traffic checkpoint.

JOHN CARLOS FREY: Timothy’s wife, Kristy, had also gotten tickets for two traffic infractions and both were ordered to appear in the Childersburg municipal court. The Fugatts told the judge about their hospitalized son and were both found “not guilty”, as these court documents show. But the judge ruled that the two still had to pay “court costs” of about $500.

During this period, Timothy Fugatt says he was spending so much time at the hospital with his son that he couldn’t hold down a job, and with his wife also not working, they couldn’t afford to pay the court costs… so their case was turned over to (GRAPHIC) Judicial Corrections Services, a private company that collects fines for the city.

Fugatt says that Judicial Corrections Services, known as JCS, told him that he and his wife could be jailed if they didn’t pay what they owed.

TIM FUGATT: They would just plain out say, you know, “If– if you can’t pay then they’ll issue you a warrant for your arrest.”

JOHN CARLOS FREY: Did that scare you?

TIM FUGATT: Of course.

Fugatt says he did the best he could to pay off his family’s fines, but says when he couldn’t continue to pay and he and his wife missed at least one court date, they were arrested and jailed.

TIM FUGATT: I felt completely like a criminal. I mean I didn’t sell drugs. I didn’t break into anyone’s home. I didn’t kill anybody. I had an expired tag.

JOHN CARLOS FREY: So you and your wife were found not guilty of the traffic violations. But still you were being arrested.

TIM FUGATT: We were being arrested, yes. I was very upset, very angry

JOHN CARLOS FREY: They were released several hours later when a relative paid a portion of what they owed.

That incident contributed to the Fugatt’s decision to become part of a lawsuit against Judicial Corrections Services and the town of Childersburg. The suit alleges that incarcerating people who can’t pay their fines violates the constitution. Though some experts argue that jail time is legal for those who don’t make a good faith effort to pay their fines, In 1971 The Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution prohibits imposing “a jail term solely because the defendant is indigent and cannot forthwith pay the fine in full.”

...

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/return-debtors-prison/

kcchiefs6465
12-29-2014, 01:10 AM
They never left.

It's $35 dollars a day in a couple places I know of. If you owe $2000, you'll be doing 60 days or so, for instance.

erowe1
12-29-2014, 08:24 AM
Are they jailed for inability to pay the ticket, or for failure to pay the ticket?

Suzanimal
12-29-2014, 08:40 AM
Are they jailed for inability to pay the ticket, or for failure to pay the ticket?

No the charges were dismissed, they were jailed for inability to pay court costs (500.00).

oyarde
12-29-2014, 09:05 AM
The US has become a debtors prison some time ago .It is expensive being poor . In an ordinary crappy country , being poor exempts you from excessive fines .The 8th Amendment only prohibits the Feds from excessive fines .They do not follow it , so states , counties and cities have a free pass for excessive theft , extortion , seizure etc

erowe1
12-29-2014, 09:06 AM
No the charges were dismissed, they were jailed for inability to pay court costs (500.00).

Again, was it for inability to pay, or failure to pay?

Did the judge say, "Well, if you had $500 and you just refused to pay it, I'd let it slide, but since you don't have it, you're going to jail just for that."?

Suzanimal
12-29-2014, 09:27 AM
Again, was it for inability to pay, or failure to pay?

Did the judge say, "Well, if you had $500 and you just refused to pay it, I'd let it slide, but since you don't have it, you're going to jail just for that."?

I see what you're asking now. It seems the private probation company had them arrested.


JOHN CARLOS FREY: They were released several hours later when a relative paid a portion of what they owed.

That incident contributed to the Fugatt’s decision to become part of a lawsuit against Judicial Corrections Services and the town of Childersburg. The suit alleges that incarcerating people who can’t pay their fines violates the constitution. Though some experts argue that jail time is legal for those who don’t make a good faith effort to pay their fines, In 1971 The Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution prohibits imposing “a jail term solely because the defendant is indigent and cannot forthwith pay the fine in full.”

DAVID DINELLI: That’s exactly what’s happening here.

David Dinelli is the deputy legal directory of the Southern Poverty Law Center, a non-profit civil rights organization that is not involved in the Fugatt’s lawsuit but has represented others in similar situations. Dinelli estimates a 1,000 people every month are going to jail in Alabama because they cannot afford to pay a fine.

DAVID DINELLI: Everyone thinks that debtor’s prison is over. It’s behind us. It isn’t. As a matter of practice, and in some cases, policy, the courts ask one question, “Can you pay the fine.” If you can’t then you have to what’s called “sit it out in jail.” That is unconstitutional unless the court first conducts an inquiry into whether they’re indigent and the causes for their inability to pay the fine. Routinely what’s happening here is that no such inquiry is undertaken.

JOHN CARLOS FREY: Did anyone in the court every try and assess whether or not you could afford the pay the fees?

TIM FUGATT: No, Sir. It was just pass and go. It was really fast. It was really fast.

Collecting fines is more important than ever because many cities face budget shortfalls. But these same cities don’t have the personnel to collect the fines. So increasingly they turn to what are known as private probation companies. That’s where Judicial Corrections Services comes in.

STEVEN BOONE: We were approached by the– the probation service. They found a niche.

JOHN CARLOS FREY: Childersburg officials declined to speak with us, so we met with Steven Boone, the finance director for Mountain Brook, a city neighboring Childersburg that also hired Judicial Correction Services. Its court is one of over a 1,000, in at least 12 states across the country, that’s hired a private probation company, according to Human Rights Watch.

Judicial Correction Services collects fines at no cost to the cities it works for.

STEVEN BOONE: they’re helping us to become more efficient, and they’re helping us to ensure that we don’t get a backlog of delinquent accounts that may ultimately get so old and people move away that we’ll never collect it. So it’s– I think it’s a win/win.


More here...


JOHN CARLOS FREY: Can you tell me if you were making an effort to pay these off?

TIM FUGATT: We were. Yes, Sir. Even though, you know, I was makin’ the effort, I wasn’t gettin’ very far with it. It was– it was till all these fees adding up. So I wasn’t gaining much ground.

JOHN CARLOS FREY: Still, 4 months after their initial court date, documents show that the Fugatt’s scraped together enough to pay off almost $300 of the $500 they owed in court costs.

But then things went from bad to worse.. in June of 2011, their son, Cole, died. A month later their house that had been in the family for generations was foreclosed upon. At this point the Fugatts say they were consumed with grief and were missing their appointments with JCS. Timothy says he explained the difficult circumstances his family was under, but he says the JCS probation officer wouldn’t work with him at all.

TIM FUGATT: It was all at one time, just– just hit us all at once. And I explained it all to them. But we– you know, it was either pay or go to jail.

JOHN CARLOS FREY: Being threatened with a jail sentence, did that help you to come up with the money?

TIM FUGATT: It helped to try a little harder. But, you know, still. I mean, as the old saying goes, you know, you can’t squeeze blood from a turnip.

Suzanimal
12-29-2014, 09:28 AM
Again, was it for inability to pay, or failure to pay?

Did the judge say, "Well, if you had $500 and you just refused to pay it, I'd let it slide, but since you don't have it, you're going to jail just for that."?

I see what you're asking now. It seems the private probation company had them arrested.


JOHN CARLOS FREY: They were released several hours later when a relative paid a portion of what they owed.

That incident contributed to the Fugatt’s decision to become part of a lawsuit against Judicial Corrections Services and the town of Childersburg. The suit alleges that incarcerating people who can’t pay their fines violates the constitution. Though some experts argue that jail time is legal for those who don’t make a good faith effort to pay their fines, In 1971 The Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution prohibits imposing “a jail term solely because the defendant is indigent and cannot forthwith pay the fine in full.”

DAVID DINELLI: That’s exactly what’s happening here.

David Dinelli is the deputy legal directory of the Southern Poverty Law Center, a non-profit civil rights organization that is not involved in the Fugatt’s lawsuit but has represented others in similar situations. Dinelli estimates a 1,000 people every month are going to jail in Alabama because they cannot afford to pay a fine.

DAVID DINELLI: Everyone thinks that debtor’s prison is over. It’s behind us. It isn’t. As a matter of practice, and in some cases, policy, the courts ask one question, “Can you pay the fine.” If you can’t then you have to what’s called “sit it out in jail.” That is unconstitutional unless the court first conducts an inquiry into whether they’re indigent and the causes for their inability to pay the fine. Routinely what’s happening here is that no such inquiry is undertaken.

JOHN CARLOS FREY: Did anyone in the court every try and assess whether or not you could afford the pay the fees?

TIM FUGATT: No, Sir. It was just pass and go. It was really fast. It was really fast.

Collecting fines is more important than ever because many cities face budget shortfalls. But these same cities don’t have the personnel to collect the fines. So increasingly they turn to what are known as private probation companies. That’s where Judicial Corrections Services comes in.

STEVEN BOONE: We were approached by the– the probation service. They found a niche.

JOHN CARLOS FREY: Childersburg officials declined to speak with us, so we met with Steven Boone, the finance director for Mountain Brook, a city neighboring Childersburg that also hired Judicial Correction Services. Its court is one of over a 1,000, in at least 12 states across the country, that’s hired a private probation company, according to Human Rights Watch.

Judicial Correction Services collects fines at no cost to the cities it works for.

STEVEN BOONE: they’re helping us to become more efficient, and they’re helping us to ensure that we don’t get a backlog of delinquent accounts that may ultimately get so old and people move away that we’ll never collect it. So it’s– I think it’s a win/win.


More here...


JOHN CARLOS FREY: Can you tell me if you were making an effort to pay these off?

TIM FUGATT: We were. Yes, Sir. Even though, you know, I was makin’ the effort, I wasn’t gettin’ very far with it. It was– it was till all these fees adding up. So I wasn’t gaining much ground.

JOHN CARLOS FREY: Still, 4 months after their initial court date, documents show that the Fugatt’s scraped together enough to pay off almost $300 of the $500 they owed in court costs.

But then things went from bad to worse.. in June of 2011, their son, Cole, died. A month later their house that had been in the family for generations was foreclosed upon. At this point the Fugatts say they were consumed with grief and were missing their appointments with JCS. Timothy says he explained the difficult circumstances his family was under, but he says the JCS probation officer wouldn’t work with him at all.

TIM FUGATT: It was all at one time, just– just hit us all at once. And I explained it all to them. But we– you know, it was either pay or go to jail.

JOHN CARLOS FREY: Being threatened with a jail sentence, did that help you to come up with the money?

TIM FUGATT: It helped to try a little harder. But, you know, still. I mean, as the old saying goes, you know, you can’t squeeze blood from a turnip.

Intoxiklown
12-29-2014, 11:33 AM
Look up Indiana body attachment "laws". It blew my mind when I found out about them, and really blew my mind that no one has said "Hell no!" to it yet.

Lucille
12-29-2014, 12:46 PM
My brother has to pay $25 a month to be on probation (which means our mom pays since he's BSC! and has no job or money of his own). He was in court a few weeks ago and the judge said if people didn't start paying their fines, he would throw them in jail.

http://armstrongeconomics.com/2014/12/29/government-imprisoning-people-who-cannot-pay-a-fine/


The latest scam has been cities across the United States are increasingly turning to what are known as private probation companies to collect unpaid fines. If you do not pay the fine, they have been throwing people in prison – that’s right – debtor’s prison is back. [...]

Indigent people are ending up in jail because they can’t afford to pay fines hurled at them by municipal governments who are dead broke and desperate to fine people, raise taxes, all so they can fund their pensions. PBS first reported this story of debtor’s prison returning on TV last spring. The publicity is has been far too little. However, in Childersburg Municipal Court, the judge with some compassion finally issued a “standing order” stating that “In no case shall an indigent defendant be incarcerated … based solely on his or her inability to pay fines.”

Nevertheless, debtor’s prison is alive and well. This is all part of the collapse of socialism. This sets the stage for an uprising against those in government who have no heart or soul, just greed. This is becoming a major problem. The Washington Post reported on St Louis profiting from poverty. In Ferguson, the fines that the courts have been handing out to protesters is fueling real resentment. The skyrocketing fines and fees in Ferguson have become a major funding source for the government. Fox News reported on the revival of Debtor’s Prison. NBC has also reported this rising problem. Congress is willing to help bankers – just never the public against the abuse of government.