Collateral Consequences Archives - Page 26 of 27

Charging Inmates Perpetuates Mass Incarceration

In this policy brief, L.B. Eisen explains how imposing fees upon incarcerated people perpetuates mass incarceration. The brief outlines describes contemporary fee practices, explores the history of those fees, analyzes their constitutionality, and makes several policy recommendations to mitigate collateral consequences.

Municipal Violations: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

In this video, John Oliver details the devastating impacts that low-income Americans suffer due to fines and fees and the involvement of private probation companies.

Personal Narrative: Donyale Thomas

Donyale Thomas was in the Ferguson jail for over a week before the City informed her that they would accept $200 for her release.

Personal Narrative: Roelif Carter

Roelif Carter pled guilty and was assessed fines and fees. Fear of jail coerced Mr. Carter to make the payment until he simply could not afford to do so.

Personal Narrative: Keilee Fant

Keilee Fant is a 37-year-old certified nurse assistant and single mother who was arrested for unpaid traffic tickets while taking her children to school. She was jailed over 12 times in 20 years for her inability to pay the debt.

The Debt Penalty: Exposing the Financial Barriers to Offender Reintegration

Contact with the criminal legal system often results in the assessment of fines and fees. For people who are indigent or subject to other financial obligations such as child support …

US: For-Profit Probation Tramples Rights of Poor

This video by Human Rights Watch shows how private probation companies can strip people of basic necessities and jail them because they can’t afford to pay their court debt and exorbitant probation fees.

Best Practices Guide to Reducing Suspended Drivers

This guide by the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators discusses how suspending driver’s licenses for non-safety related reasons is ineffective and counter-productive: it diminishes the deterrent effect and perceived legitimacy of license suspension, as well as the efficacy of law enforcement, prosecutors, courts, and motor vehicle agencies.

Shadow Citizens: Felony Disenfranchisement and The Criminalization of Debt

Many states infringe on individuals’ rights to vote; nearly 5.58 million Americans have lost the right to vote due to criminal convictions–many of them people of color and the poor. …

On Cash and Conviction: Monetary Sanctions as Misguided Policy

Legal financial obligations (LFO) used to supplement rather than replace other punishments, have resulted in legal debt for millions of mainly poor residents. In this paper, the authors argue that …