The ACLU has released a disturbing new report on the rising incarceration of poor defendants that are unable to pay legal debts. In For a Penny documents how cash strapped states are pursuing and locking up poor defendants that have no hope of paying off the legal debts they have accrued.
Given that the cost of incarceration very often exceeds the amount owed, it's yet another example of a backward policy that disproportionately punishes the poor. Imprisonment not only limits the ability of a person to gain employment once released, but creates a downward cycle that can likely lead back to prison. Everyone loses.
You can read the report here.