It's a common saying: You do the crime, you do the time. But when people are released from prison, freedom is fragmented. It marks the start of new hardships, impacting families and communities.
Part of that is due to a Florida law many people are unaware of, further punishing second-chance citizens, preventing them from truly moving on.
It's called "pay-to-stay", charging inmates for their prison stay, like a hotel they were forced to book. Florida law says that cost, $50 a day, is based on the person's sentence. Even if they are released early, paying for a cell they no longer occupy, and regardless of their ability to pay.
Not only can the state bill an inmate the $50 a day even after they are released, Florida can also impose a new bill on the next occupant of that bed, potentially allowing the state to double, triple, or quadruple charge for the same bed.
Critics call it unconstitutional. Shelby Hoffman calls it a hole with no ladder to climb out.
This seems like something that should be illegal. It sounds like a medieval law. Not something in the 21st century
50/ day is 18250 per yearthats how they make sure you come back they keep you in perpetual debt
That's alot of money for people who most likely have little income
50/ day is 18250 per year
That's alot of money for people who most likely have little income
I don't know what "ban the box" isThe goal of the Ban the Box movement is to defer criminal history inquisition until later in the hiring process. It aims to increase fairness for applicants with a criminal history and to reduce the traditional automatic disqualification from consideration for the job due to such a history
Florida felons must pay all fines, restitution and legal fees before they can regain their right to vote, a federal appellate court ruled Friday in a case that could have broad implications for the November elections.
Reversing a lower court judges decision that gave Florida felons the right to vote regardless of outstanding legal obligations, the order from the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the position of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and the GOP-led state Legislature, leaving voting rights activists aghast.
Under Amendment 4, which Florida voters passed overwhelmingly in 2018, felons who have completed their sentences would have voting rights restored. But the legal dispute arose after lawmakers the next year moved to define what it means to complete a sentence.
In addition to prison time served, lawmakers directed that all legal financial obligations, including unpaid fines and restitution, would also have to be settled before a felon could be eligible to vote.
But the legal dispute arose after lawmakers the next year moved to define what it means to complete a sentence.
$50 * 365 days = $18,250 /yrYeah. That can very easily reach a you are never paying this off level. Like just one year is something that can very reasonably take people like 8 years to pay off.
Bruh, that's nuts
It's also going to keep them from voting.Bing bong.
It's also going to keep them from voting.
https://apnews.com/article/florida-voting-rights-elections-courts-voting-b4f68dd4f11a6df4430fbdc74ae93de3
Honest question: how much lower can Florida even go?until they stop electing scumbag republicans they can keep going lower
Charging for the time they were actually there is one thing. Iffy but understandable. Charging for the time they don't actually serve is pure corruption.Charging for it isn't understandable at all. You can't force someone to live somewhere and then charge them for it, that's insane.
You pay out the nose if you're on probation or house arrest too.
House arrest doesn't bother me as bad. 1 it's just a alternative to actually being locked up 2 they gotta pay staff to monitor these people it's not like they just ignore it unless an alarms goes off alerting them to that oerson violating the rules.
My mom briefly had a job where that's all she did wad monitor people on house arrest. Funny story on that the ended up calling a dude cause he hadn't moved at all in a long period of time and he was like yapl realized I'm paralyzed right?
A person can be charged $20 to $80 a day for their incarceration, said author Brittany Friedman, an assistant professor of sociology and a faculty affiliate of Rutgers' criminal justice program. That per diem rate can lead to hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees when a person gets out of prison. To recoup fees, states use civil means such as lawsuits and wage garnishment against currently and formerly incarcerated people, and regularly use administrative means such as seizing employment pensions, tax refunds and public benefits to satisfy the debt.
Friedman says states require incarcerated people to declare their assets upon arrival to the prison and actively examine their inmate accounts to uncover any assets. People with pensions, savings accounts or regular deposits to their inmate accounts by friends and family members are at risk of suit.
The study traced pay-to-stay statutes within criminal legal codes to showcase how a conviction and incarceration can trigger a host of civil penalties as a mechanism for states to recoup the cost of incarcerating people.
Every state in the U.S., except Hawaii, charges pay-to-stay fees, said Friedman. These fees and civil recoupment strategies force us to question the purpose and morality of criminal justice.
Friedman says rationales justifying these fees routinely do not recognize them as a form of punishment and instead policymakers see pay-to-stay as financial reimbursement to the state by portraying incarcerated people as using up system resources. The justification allows pay-to-stay statutes to survive legal arguments alleging double punishment.
A person can be charged $20 to $80 a day for their incarceration, said author Brittany Friedman, an assistant professor of sociology and a faculty affiliate of Rutgers' criminal justice program. That per diem rate can lead to hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees when a person gets out of prison. To recoup fees, states use civil means such as lawsuits and wage garnishment against currently and formerly incarcerated people, and regularly use administrative means such as seizing employment pensions, tax refunds and public benefits to satisfy the debt.