Court makes mistake and charges man for time spent in jail

[proud2BlibKansan]

Overland Park man fuming over jail sentence error
By MIKE HENDRICKS
The Kansas City Star

“I can’t see how Overland Park is going to benefit by putting me back in jail and raising my fines,” Adolph J. Moreno Jr. said of the city’s pay-to-stay policy.

Imagine spending a month in jail because of a paperwork mix-up. Then after you get out, they bill you $875 for the fine accommodations.

That’s what happened to A.J. Moreno, he contends. Now, more than a year later, the 45-year-old construction worker is still fighting Overland Park over that seeming injustice.

“I was supposed to do two days, but I ended up doing a month,” Moreno told me. “They jacked up the paperwork, and now I’m in a Catch-22 situation.”

Let’s stipulate at the outset that Moreno — the A in A.J. stands for Adolph — is no saint. Over the past 15 years, the Shawnee man has been arrested in Johnson County a few times on misdemeanors.

more . . . http://www.kansascity.com/122/story/1012619.html

[PDJane]

1. There are states......

I believe that Colorado is one.....that charge you for overseeing your probabtion. If you can't pay, you go back to jail.

I don't know who decided this was a fine idea, but it seems pretty counter-productive to me.

[malaise]

3. Meanwhile the owner of the jail is paid a nice check

by the state. What a racket.

[proud2BlibKansan]

4. They just built a huge new jail

It was crazy. They built the jail but had no money to operate it. So they asked the voters to approve a forever tax so they could use this great big new jail.

Now the sensible thing to do would have been to make all these arrangements BEFORE they built the jail.

[wolfgangmo]

2. Can poor houses be far behind.

Hey, let's screw up on sentencing and then charge the prisoners for our mistakes.

This could be a bigger money maker than parking tickets. It could be a HUGE cash cow. And the best bonus is that those least able to fight the injustice are the ones most likely to be screwed over by this. It's kind of like the courts there have adopted medical insurance companies policies wherein they illegally screw with anyone who isn't likely to challenge them just to see if they can get away with it.

[Sandrine for you]

5. This is a joke, Kafka?

[Rage for Order]

6. I thought we got rid of debtors' prisons?

Also, I like how they point out that because the 'A' stands for "Adolph", he's no saint - meaning he obviously supports Hitler, much the same way as Obama was related to, or supported, Saddam! I'm thinking they could have left out the "the A in A.J. stands for Adolph" part and still managed to convey the impression that he's no saint.

[proud2BlibKansan]

7. Hey it's Kansas

Don't know what else to say. LOL

[Tsiyu]

8. I like his hat

Kids around here pay $45 per probation visit. Varies by county.

Work-release inmates also pay to stay.

One brush with the law is all it takes to permanently fiscally disable someone, when you add up fines, court fees, jail fees, probation fees, attorney (if you can afford one) fees.

It's a racket all right, and the dockets are full to the brim of people who cannot fight the system.

[proud2BlibKansan]

9. And the phone calls from jail!

Someone needs to be in jail over that racket.

[Tsiyu]

10. They got the little person

For sure.

The most "moral" folks are supposed to be running the jails, but I'm not so sure the more moral ones aren't the prisoners.

[surrealAmerican]

11. Debtor’s prison. What kind of crazy legislator...

... thought this was a GOOD idea? Would the state supreme court be likely to reverse this law?