Pay-to-stay fees are daily costs imposed on currently or formerly incarcerated people to cover the costs of their own incarceration. Using the repeal of pay-to-stay fees in Illinois as a case study, the authors examine the repeal of prison pay-to-stay policies in the United States and the evolution of policy stances that have marked reform efforts. Ultimately, the authors conclude that while the underlying penological logics of public safety and fiscal efficiency did not change, the evidence of the fees’ impact and the resulting public sentiment did. Because reformers were able to reclassify the issues to show that the regressive imposition of pay-to-stay fees was not protecting taxpayers, creating fiscal efficiency, and promoting rehabilitation, reform occurred. The authors argue that instead of attacking the underlying need for public safety and fiscal responsibility, providing evidence that the current practice does not achieve either is what ultimately pushes reform.
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