What do they do to people who can't pay their jail tab?

[catmandu57]

My stepson got drunk and stupid last summer and got thirty days in the county lock up for it. While he was there they charged him 24.00 per day for room and board. This has me wondering what happens when they bill someone for being locked up and they can't pay the bill? Do they put them back in jail? Maybe get them a job? or make them work it off for the county?
It seems like this violates the amendment against involuntary servitude.

[ThomWV]

1. One of the beauties of America is you can't go to jail for owing money

They can lock you up in a heartbeat if you write a bad check for a debt, but they can't lock you up for owing money. Keep that in mind anytime a creditor calls.

[Sanctified]

15. You can if you owe it to the IRS. n/t

[AZ Criminal JD]

17. Not true

[whatdoyouthink]

2. I,m Sure it's part of his court order

and if you don't pay - your son may be some sort of violation? (probation)
and there worse then collection agents!!! (they even Sub this out to them) garnish? wages/on his Credit report / etc...

[flashl]

3. He will likely be in violation of parole. Its part of the recidivism

As far as the U.S. not having debtor court...Read DU Post Debtor Court?

[Scurrilous]

4. They'll send him a bill upon release.

If he doesn't pay, it gets turned over to a collection agency.

[lonestarnot]

5. They can always donate their bodies to science.

[Missy M]

6. 30 days seems like a long time in lock up for being drunk....

he must have done something really stupid along with it. If he can't afford to pay all at once can the bill be paid in installments? I feel for him.

[catmandu57]

7. Yes it's the stupid part

That got him, I can't go into detail about it but it was definitely the stupid part, he's already paid the bill, what I'm wondering about is someone who is stone cold broke who completes their sentence and can't pay the boarding bill.

[Breeze54]

9. I was re-arrested for owing court fee's once. (traffic ticket)

They actually had put out a warrant for my arrest for the sum of $12.50!!!
But it had ballooned due to interest. I was dumbfounded and I ended up
in jail for two fucking weeks because of it!! I didn't even know I had
any court fee's!!! This was in a southern state. They're assholes!!

[Missy M]

11. That is ridiculous........

in jail for two weeks over a $12.50 ticket. In New York state they will suspend your license. They sent me a warning when I forgot about a ticket and I paid it right away so no suspension.

[Breeze54]

12. No, for court fee's and they added interest!!

The ticket was paid but it was the court fee's!!

I thought I had paid them everything I was supposed to pay

but they must have added them on or something. :shrug:

It was a long time ago... 1990? But they sure screwed with me!! :grr:

[Missy M]

18. To put you in jail for two weeks for court fees and interest....

on a traffic ticket is still outrageous.

[ThePowerofWill]

8. Nothing.

I still owe the County of Gastonia $195 for my last week. My time was finished they had to let me out. I was asked about the money i owed on the way out, i laughed. Never paid it either, never will. That was in 98 or 99.

When your time is up, it's up. They can't hold you over the money you owe. Now if you are on some type of conditional release i.e. probation, or parole you could be held in violation for non payment. However when your maximum( total amount of time sentenced too) time is up they can no longer make any attempt to hold you in jail, or put you there.

I know plenty of people here in the criminal justice system who wont take probation, or parole for these reasons. They "max out" on purpose so they don't have anything against them. In my state even criminal restitution can't be collected when someone maxes out their time.

[catmandu57]

10. Ok thanks

More and more places are doing this now trying to collect money for time spent in jail. He was freaking and peaking about it, so he paid it, if it were me I would have laughed it off.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

13. I've led a sheltered life, I guess. When did we start charging people for being locked up?

The only thing close to that I ever heard of was that in some cases you could pay to sort of "upgrade" to a nicer facility if you wanted to get out of staying in a regular prison.

[catmandu57]

14. Sometime during the nineties

It's spread out so it's a pretty common practice these days, one more incentive to stay out of jail.

[High Plains]

16. I owe the Beadle County Jail $125 for a five-day stay.

They will never get it.

I make no apologies for refusing to pay for the privilege of being jailed for a non-violent, victimless offense. Fuck them.

On edit: They tried making me pay it when I left jail, they sent me collection agency letters, they tried to send me official notices, but I refused to accept the certified mail.

I dunno, maybe they'll be able to take me to court and win a judgement, but they'll still have to collect it, and I will fight every step of the way. Again, fuck them.