Pay-to-Stay Jail Programs Offer Upgraded Cells For a Price

[WskyDK]

This is extortion.

Not even a little bit? Where's the force?

[Poopymonster]

Cash strapped state allowing (usually) minor offenders to stay in slightly nicer cells for a fee? The only issue I could see with this is that this guy had a fatal DUI. Even then someone would be hard pressed to convince me the is a bad thing.

He should be in gen pop. "I fear for my life!" and others don't? I think you should have had this thought cross your mind before you committed the crime.

Having said that, if I had my druthers, we'd have a European model for prisons. After most americans see their style, that it fucking WORKS, and spontaneously evacuate

Shit. Just mountains of shit everywhere.

And maybe remove for profit prisons.

[Deleted]

Not even a little bit? Where's the force?

The force is inherent in the prison sentence add that option that you can have a better stay while getting your citizen rights reduced is extortion.

[darkwarrior42]

Your punishment should not be based on how much money you have.

If "minor" offenses (which DUI is not) are not worthy of the normal jail system, then build new jails for those offenders.

If the money is needed and the crimes are that minor, have more crimes with fines instead of jail time. Make the fines scale based on the income of the defendant, so that the rich are not given a slap on the wrist, but the poor actually have a chance of being able to pay the fine without starving to death in the process.


Particularly in this case. He didn't "make a bad decision", don't sugar coat it. He willingly and knowingly chose to endanger his own life and the lives of everyone around him because he couldn't be bothered to find a solution that didn't involve driving while intoxicated. Even if I were to agree with this system, this person would not be one I would ever consider a viable candidate for it.

[Nachturnal]

This is extortion.

I don't think you know what that means =/.

[Teebone]

Your punishment should not be based on how much money you have.

Haven't been paying attention have we? Welcome to America, where money is the only thing that matters.

[AndaliteBandit]

*everyday criminals. They certainly can become white collar criminals often enough.

It is interesting. What makes DUI considered just a mistake or a bad choice that anyone, even good people, could make? I have to wonder if caucasians being over five times as likely to be arrested for DUI than all other ethnicities combined, and making up 91% of those arrested for DUI under the age of 18, makes the crime somehow seem less criminal.

[arandomuser]

Rich people never go to jail anyways whats the point

[Hiricine]

Its not a terrible idea in principle, though we're going to see some applications that people don't like. That being said, the more money everyone else puts into the system, the less I have to. If said man really has money to upgrade his jail cell, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that the family sure is going to "feel better" with the money they'll receive from the man/insurance company, now everyone else has to pay in less too.

The only real problem with this starts when they make the usual jail cells so crappy that the upgrade becomes mandatory. Or that prison becomes too nice to stay in.

[Poopymonster]

Your punishment should not be based on how much money you have.

If "minor" offenses (which DUI is not) are not worthy of the normal jail system, then build new jails for those offenders.

If the money is needed and the crimes are that minor, have more crimes with fines instead of jail time. Make the fines scale based on the income of the defendant, so that the rich are not given a slap on the wrist, but the poor actually have a chance of being able to pay the fine without starving to death in the process.


Particularly in this case. He didn't "make a bad decision", don't sugar coat it. He willingly and knowingly chose to endanger his own life and the lives of everyone around him because he couldn't be bothered to find a solution that didn't involve driving while intoxicated. Even if I were to agree with this system, this person would not be one I would ever consider a viable candidate for it.

If it's just a fine, how much money you have should be part of the punishment. Finland did it right. Rich guy got caught speeding, his ticket was based on his income.

[Deleted]

I don't think you know what that means =/.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extortion

Extortion (also called shakedown, outwrestling, and exaction) is a criminal offense of obtaining money, property, or services from a person, entity, or institution, through coercion. Refraining from doing harm is sometimes euphemistically called protection.

From the OP

Seal Beach and several other Southern California cities — including Anaheim, Arcadia, Burbank, Glendale, Huntington Beach, Pasadena, Santa Ana and Torrance - allow inmates to avoid other overcrowded and potentially more dangerous jails by renting the upgraded cells for a daily fee.

[darkwarrior42]

Haven't been paying attention have we? Welcome to America, where money is the only thing that matters.

I said it shouldn't be, not that it isn't. I have no illusions about whether or not the system will continue, just I have no illusions that people will try to claim that a 24-year old who was drinking, smoking marijuana, then decided to drive and as a result kill someone else is "not a bad person", or "a good person who made a mistake", instead of an idiotic, self-absorbed moron who couldn't be bothered to think for the 1 second it would have taken.

[cFortyfive]

Nonviolent criminals paying exorbitant amounts of money for minor creature comforts? Sounds fine to me, they end up wasting just as much of their life behind bars and even contribute extra cash to improve the area.

In 2014, 268 participants used the pay-to-stay program in Glendale, and a total of $63,377 was collected.

That sum doesn't even remotely fit my understanding of exorbitant.

[darkwarrior42]

If it's just a fine, how much money you have should be part of the punishment. Finland did it right. Rich guy got caught speeding, his ticket was based on his income.

You're right; I even included a line to that effect in my post, so I'll re-phrase.

If you're going to prison, the quality of the prison and the length of the term shouldn't be based on how much money you have, nor should your safety be based on such. I have no problem with fines scaling based on income.

[Teebone]

I said it shouldn't be, not that it isn't. I have no illusions about whether or not the system will continue, just I have no illusions that people will try to claim that a 24-year old who was drinking, smoking marijuana, then decided to drive and as a result kill someone else is "not a bad person", or "a good person who made a mistake", instead of an idiotic, self-absorbed moron who couldn't be bothered to think for the 1 second it would have taken.

Or that I could have broken into a bank after hours and not paid for it for the rest of my life, but I went to college for 18 months and am forever in debt. This country favors only those who are well enough to begin with.

[Laila]

this is in Pasadena that is almost 70% democrat

The question I responded to wasn't "what is going on in this specific deal with this specific prison," it was "Remind me why privatized prisons are suddenly acceptable?"

Which would be why I quoted exactly that question when I answered it.


Were I answering the first question, the one you wish I was responding to, the answer would be "this is not a private prison-- it was a private prison, then it turned out the company running it was doing extremely bad shit, and it's now a government run prison... but people don't want to fund prisons, so it's doing shit like this to try to keep itself operating within the pathetic budget it has."


As to the actual question I was responding to, it's a no-brainer, really. Private prisons are a thing because there are people stupid enough to believe that private is always better, cheaper, and more efficient than public, i.e. republicanism.

[dextersmith]

Nonviolent? He killed someone. Hotel suites for the right price? Omg.

Some of the programs even let prisoners leave for work.

Come and go as you please? Business trip to Disney?

[endersblade]

It's more money coming in for the city. I see no problems with it. Jail is jail, and their permanent record is still fucked no matter how much you're paying to be comfortable.

[Laila]

Cash strapped state allowing (usually) minor offenders to stay in slightly nicer cells for a fee? The only issue I could see with this is that this guy had a fatal DUI. Even then someone would be hard pressed to convince me the is a bad thing.

The best part of people complaining about this is that huge swaths of them have committed the exact same crime but were lucky enough not to get caught or kill anyone doing it.

Many would even be more likely to complain if he didn't get his license back for a year after he got out of jail than if he spent an extra year in jail. Because, you know, that could happen to them, and that makes it an outrage.

[MikeBogina]

Republicanism.

probably the most bigoted, bias, uneducated answer I've seen in a minute.

Republicans are for harsh punishments and death penalties.

Democrats are about making everyone feel better... including prisoners.