Saturday, April 20, 2013

Debtor prisons thrive in the US

Criminalizing poverty--

As economy flails, debtors' prisons thrive - CBS News: " . . . they reflect a justice system that in effect criminalizes poverty. "It's a growing problem nationally, particularly because of the economic crisis," said Inimai Chettiar, director of the justice program at New York University School of Law's Brennan Center for Justice. Roughly a third of U.S. states today jail people for not paying off their debts, from court-related fines and fees to credit card and car loans, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. Such practices contravene a 1983 United States Supreme Court ruling that they violate the Constitutions's Equal Protection Clause."

Constitution? That's just a small technicality in today's legal system in the United States!


 

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