Thousands of Americans are being sent to modern-day debtors’ prisons every month
by: J. D. Heyes
NaturalNews.com
Friday, February 06, 2015
There is a saying that goes, “There is nothing new under the sun.” Seems that’s true for people who owe money.
Once upon a time in Western Europe, circa the 19th century, debtors’ prisons were a common phenomenon. And they were exactly what they sound like: Prisons for people who were unable to pay their debts. People who were destitute or simply had fallen on hard times and were unable to repay court-ordered judgments were “sentenced” to these prisons. They remained there until they were able to either work off what they owed or secure funding from another source.
Now, in 21st century America, debtors’ prisons are making a comeback.
According to a new report from Human Rights Watch called Profiting from Probation, more than 1,000 courts around the country “delegate tremendous coercive power to companies that are often subject to little meaningful oversight or regulation.”
Further, a summary of the report states:
In many cases, the only reason people are put on probation is because they need time to pay off fines and court costs linked to minor crimes. In some of these cases, probation companies act more like abusive debt collectors than probation officers, charging the debtors for their services.
Often, the group says, the poorest Americans wind up having to pay the most in fees over time, in what amounts to a discriminatory penalty. When they fail to pay, companies then can, and do, ensure that they are arrested.
So, while such incarceration is not actually called “debtors’ prison,” the result is the same.
Forced to skip meals
The Rest…HERE
