Kimberly S. is a mother of three who battled to overcome drug addiction. She has been convicted of failure to pay 10 times in the last four years, each time incurring $450 to $670 in additional debt, and sentences of as much as 30 days in jail. She is currently under court order to pay $300 monthly to White County, in addition to payments owed for probation supervision and to other courts in Independence and Pulaski counties. In total, she must pay $500 each month toward court debt and probation fees. She is also expected to appear for probation check-ins and review hearings in different counties on multiple days per month. Since first arrested on a warrant issued by Judge Derrick in September 2014, she has spent—on average—one of every three days in the White County Detention Center, almost wholly for failure to pay and process-based charges. As a result, she has lost two jobs, her driver’s license has been suspended multiple times, and she has lost housing four times; each time losing much of what she and her children owned while struggling to move quickly and store their belongings.
Source: Too Poor to Pay