Prisons charging inmates per night. What gives?

[Lucifer Morningstar]

That's awesome. If I pay $100 can I get a better bed, my own TV, and maybe a PC?

[Deleted]

I think it's great, if you broke the law, when you get out of prison you should pay for your stay, why not, I think it makes sense. I would be fine with charging inmates vs tax payers for the burden to house and feed criminals.

Right, so if the inmate can't pay because they're broke and that's why they were in the fucking prison in the first place, the should indeed have to pay up, usually by commiting a crime to get the money, and they end in prison again, the government pays for their stay again, and we go around and around, forever keeping the crime business alive.

Do you work for a pharmaceutical company, btw?

[Noradin]

They are essentially double dipping. They are not doing a thing where they take it from the inmates instead of the tax payers. Its both. There was one guy who was charged $50 a night for 3 years and ended up with a $55,000 bill. Prison is supposed to fix people so they can return to society. Not cripple them with a massive debt they realistically can't pay. If we had to rely on prisoners who just got out of jail to fund the prisons, good luck.

How did you get to this conclusion?
It is obviously supposed to be a ersatz for slavery.

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There's no money for it, or facilities. Americans won't agree to pay a ton more taxes for it. Just because you 'pay taxes' doesn't mean money comes magically out of nowhere from the government.

The current system costs the tax payer more money and makes the country less save than the alternative.

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WHich have much smaller populations, and much smaller crime rates, and much looser criminal codes.

It's the same as the gun situation. You can't just 'change it' from what it is now.

Wonder why that is?
Maybe because prisons in the US have an incentive to make sure that the inmates never get reintegrated successfully?

[Lahis]

I want my tax dollars if spent on prisons to be focused on driving down recidivism. That is what would drop the prison population and hence less prisoners, less prisons, and less money spent. From everything I've seen or learned Private Prisons do not accomplish those goals.

What kind of business would want to shrink their clientele?

[Noradin]

For profit prisons was one of the dumbest ideas we've had. It just incentives them to come up with ways to make the inmates comes right back after they get out of jail and no private business has the best interest of society in mind. That's just not what businesses are there for.

America's disdain for inmates and mocking attitude to other country's better solutions is pretty sad. It's like something out of Idiocracy.

Well, when businesses make a lot of profit then they usually spend some of it on lobbying and propaganda.
That is likely the reason why politicans came up with this idea in the first place: The for profit prison corporations direct their "Free Speech" at them, personally.

[Deleted]

Charging prisoners should be the norm. Or at least let them labour while they are in there, to pay for their accommodations.

Society should not have to pay the bills for criminals.

[Raelbo]

I was just wondering what your thoughts on this is. How is this right? How is the states going to be allowed to lock up people and then charge them a fee on top of it! That seems like a massive conflict of interest to me.

I don't think that prison should provide free board and lodging plus expenses for its inmates. But I also don't think it's ok to charge prisoners for things unless they have a means to earn an income.

So IMO it's pretty simple: prisoners should be able to earn an income while in prison. It's a win-win-win scenario: Prisons should provide basic employment opportunities for prisoners to earn their keep and, if they are prepared to work dilligently even come out of prison with a bit of money to help them get started with their new life.

I do agree though that prisons should not be a profit making enterprise. Covering their costs is one thing, and I think it's totally ok to make a financially sustainable (or at least less government subsidised) prison in which the prison gets work contracts that are performed by the prisoners.

[P for Pancetta]

It's the perfect american system, you get charged 50$ a night plus additionsl charges based on your circumstances. Inside you're forced to work for 8-10h a day for a pay far bellow the minimum wage, lets say 5$ a day. You lose 45$ a day at minimum. After your sentence you have a hard time getting a job, even if you get one you can't get by because you've got a crushing debt. Now the debt collectors come, but you got nothing to give. Back to jail it is for this criminal scum who won't pay his debt!

[Kathandira]

My brother just got out of jail and was ordered to take drug tests. The thing that got me was that he is being charged $25 per test and is required to take 2 times a week. This made my jaw drop! The judge ordered mandatory drug tests that my brother has to pay for. I had never before heard of an inmate being sentenced to a required bill. Then I heard the worst part. He will be getting a bill for each night he was in jail!

Now, I am sitting here dumbfounded. I can only think, Where the heck are my taxes going if the prisons are going to start charging people for being locked up? My second thought is in what system is this right? They are turning prison and punishment into a money making scheme! They get money from our taxes, and now for imprisoning people. My state isn't even the only one to do it. There are others to do it.

I was just wondering what your thoughts on this is. How is this right? How is the states going to be allowed to lock up people and then charge them a fee on top of it! That seems like a massive conflict of interest to me.

None the less, if you are in prison, you aren't making money. Unless they have a work program, but those pay like 25 cents an hour. How the hell are you supposed to pay for this, if you don't have the money?

[NutellaCrepe]

My brother just got out of jail and was ordered to take drug tests. The thing that got me was that he is being charged $25 per test and is required to take 2 times a week. This made my jaw drop! The judge ordered mandatory drug tests that my brother has to pay for. I had never before heard of an inmate being sentenced to a required bill. Then I heard the worst part. He will be getting a bill for each night he was in jail!

Now, I am sitting here dumbfounded. I can only think, Where the heck are my taxes going if the prisons are going to start charging people for being locked up? My second thought is in what system is this right? They are turning prison and punishment into a money making scheme! They get money from our taxes, and now for imprisoning people. My state isn't even the only one to do it. There are others to do it.

I was just wondering what your thoughts on this is. How is this right? How is the states going to be allowed to lock up people and then charge them a fee on top of it! That seems like a massive conflict of interest to me.

In what country / state?

[Spiffums]

GOOD! Criminals should have to pay.

[Deleted]

really if they are going to be treated like this why not just get it over with and kill the poor man. that isnt how life is ment to be, in slave to a system that doesnt give a fuck about them.

[Alexeht]

There was one guy who was charged $50 a night for 3 years and ended up with a $55,000 bill.

I think it is done so those people will never stop doing criminal activities, because people with debt like that will not be able to live, and then they will return to jail so prison can make even more money.

[Logwyn]

There's no money for it, or facilities. Americans won't agree to pay a ton more taxes for it. Just because you 'pay taxes' doesn't mean money comes magically out of nowhere from the government.



We can't. There aren't the logistics for it. There isn't money or facilities, and the businesses aren't simply going to go "Oh, sure, we'll just close shop."

They won't have a choice if the government tells them. The municipality just buys the facility. Could either just hire the current workers, create a sheriffs office/police office to handle the prison. Might take it happening at the state level but could happen.

[Kujako]

Prisons are about profit in the US, not rehabilitation.

[Escariot]

its a good thing
if youre toxic enough to do crime you should pay the state for taking care of your ass and feeding you in prison

[zenkai]

Prisons are about profit in the US, not rehabilitation.

Yes $25 outweighs the cost of operating a prison

[Kujako]

Yes $25 outweighs the cost of operating a prison

Oh that's just the gravy, most of the money comes from taxes and selling the prison labor at slave wage prices keeping non-inmates out of the job market.

[Sykol]

Prisoners should be paying to stay there. Why would we expect everyone else to fully foot their bill for them?

[Coombs]

Big difference between prison and jail.