In this Wednesday, Aug. 10, 2022 photo, Fred Hodges, left, and Da'ee McKnight at their workplace, Family ReEntry, a reentry support group aiming to break cycles of violence, crime and incarceration in Bridgeport, Conn. Hodges and McKnight are former Connecticut inmates who have been paying for cost of their incarceration. Two decades after her release from prison, Teresa Beatty feels she is still being punished.
Supporters say the collections are a legitimate way for states to recoup millions of taxpayer dollars spent on prisons and jails. Her lawyers have asked a federal judge to block the state from enforcing the law against anyone, saying it remains unfair even after the amendments. As prison populations ballooned, Friedman said, policymakers questioned how to pay for incarceration costs. “So, instead of raising taxes, the solution was to shift the cost burden from the state and the taxpayers onto the incarcerated.”
Reminds me of debtors prisons. They put people, sometimes including the whole family, for not paying off a debt. They stayed there until the debt was paid. Problem was they couldn't earn money to pay off the debt while in prison.
Sad stories of relatives wanting to help out an ex-con only for their checks or bequests to be SEIZED.
Why don't they work while in prison? They always need people to do general labor for municipalities. Taking care of parks, cleaning up litter, painting buildings. I am sure there are people in jail that have useful skills too or are willing to learn a trade. Make prison useful.