Jail Bill: Pay To Stay?
Old saying: If you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime.
New saying: If you can’t pay for the time, don’t do the crime.
Straddling the intersection of recession and responsibility, a Missouri county prosecutor wants to start charging local jail inmates $45 a night for room and board, saying “It doesn’t make sense that our citizens should have to pay for the irresponsible behavior of others in these tough economic times”
In cash-strapped municipalities across the US, a pay-to-stay trend has emerged behind bars, shifting costs from taxpayers to the convicted. Salt Lake County Metro Jail is charging inmates $40 for each day spent in lock-up. At the new Springfield, Oregon lockup, convicted prisoners will be dinged $60 a night. And a county jail in Iowa even considered making inmates pay for toilet paper.
“If they are in jail, they should be responsible for their own expenses,” says one law enforcement official. “Once you start looking at things, you’re like ‘Why haven’t we thought of this before?’” A county sheriff says, “When they’ve been found guilty of a crime, they’re ordered to pay restitution back to their victims. Why shouldn’t they pay restitution back to the taxpayers?”
Critics of such plans warn that saddling inmates with big bills for jail housing could backfire. “Many of these individuals have a difficult time re-entering society anyway,” one said. “We don’t want them so burdened with debt that any legitimate attempt at re-entry is impossible, and they turn back to crime to pay the fees you just imposed on them.”
“Really,” said a law professor, “it’s a poor person’s tax.”
Tell us what you think: Should people convicted of a crime be forced to pay the costs of their jail stay? If there was no recession, should they pay? Do we as taxpayers have a responsibility to cover the costs of running our jails?
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this is real crazy and very foolish
inmates will have to do personal favorites for idems in jail you get my point paying for tolie tuissues they are insane
unknown | 7 months, 2 weeks ago
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Wrong thinking!
This is totally wrong. It’s not as if these inmates checked into a five star hotel. They are there against their will and if you know anyone who’s been to jail lately you will probably see the falicy of this thinking. In today’s society it’s against the law to be poor. Once you face financial hardship it’s almost impossible to get out. If you can’t afford to pay your car insurance you risk getting a very big ticket that will cost dearly. Of course you won’t be able to pay the ticket so they will throw you in jail. While you’re in there you will loose whatever employment and income you did have, you won’t be able to pay your bills including child support payments which means more jail time. The last thing you need is a bill for being in jail!!! The whole legal system of punishment is really messed up and it doesn’t work. It is proven fact that at least 90% of all inmates are addicted to drugs or alcohol which is the reason they committed the crime. Addiction is a recognized desease and without treatment it won’t go away. That means that no matter how long we lock them up, when we release these people back into society they will still be suffering from their disease which will most likely cause them to commit another crime. Yes the taxpayer is paying for jailing people. What we need to be doing is treating people. No one is born evil. Every criminal is a human being that has a history of something that caused them to act in a manner that is against the law. We need to be finding out what social disease each of these people have and providing treatment for them. Then, we need to help them re-enter society, find gainful employment and then ask them to pay for part of the medical treatment they recieved. The percentage of people who return to jail is astounding. It doesn’t work. It helps no one. Two wrongs have never made a right. You can’t take a person who has mistreated another human being and mistreat them and then expect them to be normal when it’s over. I can hardly believe that our society has existed this long and we are still treating each other in such a barbaric way. Everyone knows it’s not working. Why don’t we change it?
Carol Braden-Williams | 7 months, 2 weeks ago
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homemaker
It is an interesting idea. It would have to be refined. At one time Pontiac Prison in IL had a farm, which the inmates worked-an apparently enjoyed. The ACLU took that priviledge away from the inmates, under the belief that they were fighting for the inmates rights. Not everyone would be enabled to pay, and it would be reprehensible to load one with a debt to be carried on after release. Perhaps a plan allowing those who did have the financial means to pay as they stay and those who do not have the financial means could do some work to lessen the cost of housing the inmates. The work program might be beneficial for the inmate upon returning to the outside society.. As we know an idea of this magnitude will take a lot of examination. In general, ion its service it appears to be fine.
G.M.Krog | 7 months, 1 week ago
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I have right...
I have a right to make a comment to this. I know both roads of this. I have been shot at, the man is now in prison. My brother is in prison who has a mental illness. My best friend, spouse is in jail for a victimless crime. I am a white female 25-30. I have gone to college. I have made 45,000 dollars a year before getting shot at.
That is just a little of my back ground.
If people like Mr. Hazen, Mr, Bush, Mr. Cheney and Mr. Meenan (just a few, some from my community) were imprisoned, I still would not like to see this sort of sick demented thing happen. I am personally outraged that it is. We the people do not truthfully know where this money goes!!!! Victim’s compensation has done some things for me, but I still had to fight over as much as 107$ doctor’s bill. I had to fight to have my 10 year old to even have some right to 7500 for hospital bills shared between the three of us. His brother, now 9 had to have his finger reatatched. Money that these “criminals” are paying/working for is going to the wrong people. The majority of these “criminals” are mentally ill. I don’t believe in prisons and what they stand for, even after what happened. I am not scared of the man who shot as us… I am scared of the police in my community… They have been tasering 70+ year olds and breaking into people’s houses with out warrants and siding with sexual offenders. Sick. All of it. I am as angry and slightly nutty as I sound because of the injustice I have witnessed through out my life. I had straight A’s in school. I am not ignorant. Someday, I will not change the world, but help make it a better place.
To those who agree with this sort of sick thing obviously believe that the world revolves around them.
Meghan R. Coleman | 7 months ago
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Making the wrong right from within..
THis is my comment,that we live in a world of sinful people.We have all done things in our lives not pleasing to God or to man,therefore,when people break the law and are put behind bars for a crime committed,they should be instructed the way to walk in righteousness.We need stronger prison ministry and show people they need to change the waay the heart should react to mankind with love.All,everybody are sinful therefore,we must be showed to sin less and less.We live in a self-centered world. No I do not think prison should be like Holiday Inn and give them benefits that we the tax payers do not even recieve when we work hard and don’t have money to pay for it.Prison should not have all the frills,it should be a place of correction.They do not need tv’s and desserts with their meals.There needs to be a calling for teachers and preachers to give them a chance to read and a hope to recieve christ in their lives.Until we change within we can not change outside ourselves.If those that choose to not learn and repeant of their actions,there will come a day when the righteous judge will put them in their place.For those that chose to remain evil in their ways they will suffer God’s wrath.While on this earth people that do wrong needs to pay the price.People that are placed behind bars many times gets treated better than their victims,they cry mercy well what about their victims.I say that if they refuse to be taught and remain hard-hearted and not change their hearts,don’t treat them like some famous rock star.Prison is prison and just that.All have sinned and fallen short,but also people needs to turn from their wicked ways.Don’t treat crime like a reward for evil.Many people are not taught about the bible at home but when they get behind bars their hearts become resitive to Gods teaching.
Ruth Hottinger | 7 months ago
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and the rich get richer but the rest only get olde
government run education instead of parents and the people in the school districts running them has made education a joke. Whats really sad is that the
children who dont learn for many reasons,, not just the ones that dont want to learn or dont care thats only a very small percent, some kids get sick,, or
have bad parents who beat them ( i know my parents beat me ), but i was one of
the very few lucky ones who did well anyway.. because i realized that if i did not succedd in school id never have anything.. so i made all a’s. But the ones who dont wind up in prison. not because they are criminals, because the courts pick on persons who are uneducated its easy to blame them for crimes no matter if they are guilty or not and they dont know how to defend themselves.. it makes me ashamed to call myself an american.. and yet it goes on.. no one cares.. least of all the government who is the cause of the problem to begin with.. what a crock..
Mr Dale G Havard | 6 months, 3 weeks ago
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Tax Payer
I am probably going to make a lot of people mad at me but I really don’t care, I as a tax payer do not feel that making an inmate pay for his housing is the way to go.
You can not force a person to pay housing when you are forcing them to stay in jail in the first place.
I feel that is double jeopardy, you are forcing them to stay in jail for their crime and then you say that they have to pay you also. I think it is a little to much to expect an inmate to pay you room and board, if you want money then you should fine the person not make the person sit in jail and pay you also, most jails are making the inmate do manual labor also for their crimes so that is making them pay triple penalty for their crimes and that is just not right at all.
It is one thing to make a person sit behind bars for doing something wrong but when you tell them they have to pay to stay in a place your forcing them to stay in, then you are going way to far for a penalty.
It isn’t right or fair to the inmate. It is greed that is driving these people to even think of this type of penalty in the first place.
Most of the people you are putting in jail don’t have a pot to #### in or a window to throw it out of anyhow so how can you try and force them to pay you for forcing them to stay in jail.
How do you expect them to get the money to pay you ?
If they can’t pay to stay out of jail how can they pay to stay in??
Ron Schansema | 6 months, 3 weeks ago
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Taxpayer
Why would you ask someone who most likely don’t have funds to pay for their jail stay? If, they had money most likely “I would like to believe” they wouldn’t be committing some of the crimes we are experiencing. How do you plan to force the issue? Whatever your recourse is would more than likely cost us (the taxpayer) in collection fees and administration.
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Martha | 6 months, 2 weeks ago
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ms
im confused about how an inmate is supposed to pay while in prison.. Alot of Inmates are in jail because they dont have jobs or skills to get jobs.They are committing crimes to get money ., and then the circle of crime continues…
stephanie kalil | 6 months, 1 week ago
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Prisoners receiving care that is denied for our wo
I have been disgusted to see the extreme measures given to maintain prisoners in a hospital based correctional facility. We are virtually maintaining the best of care for molesters, rapists, murderers, drug dealers, and persons who would literally die without our care. We supply full dentures, transplants, HIV therapy, chemotherapy, and narcotic analgesia on a daily basis. Patients are demanding and ruthless at times often in the process of lawsuits for what they deem “not receiving respect”, I feel inmates should pay for all their care which includes drugs, surgeries, physical therapy, occupational therapy, dental, podiatry, eye exams. glasses, nursing care, dressing treatments, special beds, to name a few. Who cares is they can’t re enter society because they can’t afford to get out of jail? It’s been proven over and over that 80% of prisoners return to jail, some within 24 hrs of being incarcerated. I also believe that if a prisoner refuses a medication after it has been offered and poured that he should pay for this medication. The waste is astounding in the correctional setting. Thanks for listening…………
Leslie Williams | 6 months, 1 week ago
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