Debtors' Prison

Debtors’ prison is an outdated term for a prison for people who are unable to pay a debt. However, in many states, government mechanisms are in place that will charge inmates and free citizens with judgments against them that include numerous fees, but when these judgements and fees are not paid, they are converted to time behind bars, essentially trapping individuals in a financial “debtors prison.”  

Specifically, in some jurisdictions within the United States, people can still be held in contempt of court and jailed after willful non-payment of child support, garnishments, confiscations, fines, or back taxes. Then they incur more fees while they are in jail, which they are also unable to pay, and these fees are converted to more jailtime. It is vicious cycle.

This course will explain how these systems work, the history of debtors’ prisons, the positive and negative justifications of this practice, and how it affects the most vulnerable and economically challenged citizens of society, keeping them locked in poverty.

This course is comprehensive. Some of the topics discussed in this course include: 

• Programs that recoup money from inmates
• Pay to Stay jail programs
• Suing an inmate for their stay
• How charging an inmate fees can reduce frivolous requests
• The high cost to incarcerate
• Should inmates pay for their stay?
• A facility’s cost of providing its mandated services
• The system’s cost of doing business
• The history of debtors’ prisons

Between incarceration for failing to pay fines and collecting for inmate services during incarceration, an individual can be trapped in a vicious cycle!