‘Being poor is not a crime’

[Merchant_of_Meh]

Puzzling......What is the point of this? Locking the kid up won't get them their money any faster. Put him to work so he can work off his debt. Making him sit in a cell solves nothing.

 

[occupied]

Puzzling......What is the point of this? Locking the kid up won't get them their money any faster. Put him to work so he can work off his debt. Making him sit in a cell solves nothing.

For some judges, being a hard-ass devotee to draconian laws is all the reason they need.

 

[EdwardBaiamonte]

The penalty for a crime is always stipulated in the state's criminal code.

Many misdemeanors have stipulations of "fine and/or imprisonment." It's dependent on the judge's ruling. And YES, refusal to pay a fine when levied, WILL result in jail time! The reasons are unimportant; you pay the fine or you do time in the county lockup.

It is called PUNISHMENT FOR THE CRIME. It has nothing to do with being poor.

yes there really is no debtors prison unless you are in debt to the liberal govt! If you are in debt to anyone else but the govt there is no prison.

 

[SwimExpert]

Puzzling......What is the point of this? Locking the kid up won't get them their money any faster. Put him to work so he can work off his debt. Making him sit in a cell solves nothing.

For some judges, being a hard-ass devotee to draconian laws is all the reason they need.

The kid spent only one night in jail, even though it was supposed to be nine days. I don't see where the judge is trying to be a hard ass.

 

[occupied]

Puzzling......What is the point of this? Locking the kid up won't get them their money any faster. Put him to work so he can work off his debt. Making him sit in a cell solves nothing.

For some judges, being a hard-ass devotee to draconian laws is all the reason they need.

The kid spent only one night in jail, even though it was supposed to be nine days. I don't see where the judge is trying to be a hard ass.

I don't see where jail is warranted for unpaid tickets due to hardship at all, it's just piling misery on top of misery.

 

[SwimExpert]

I don't see where jail is warranted for unpaid tickets due to hardship at all, it's just piling misery on top of misery.

As I said in a previous post, I do think this is an injustice that has happened. But that does not mean the judge was just trying to be a hard ass. The judge didn't wright the law.

 

[orogenicman]

You can't pay the fine, don't do the crime.

He isn't being punished for being poor, he's being punished for committing a crime and then not paying the fine.

Putting anyone in jail for a simple traffic infraction because they cannot afford to pay the fine is counterproductive, a complete waste of law enforcement and judicial time and resources, and a travesty of justice. It would be far more productive and cost effective to simply allow those who cannot pay to perform a public service such as working at a homeless shelter X number of hours.

 

[Kosh]

Puzzling......What is the point of this? Locking the kid up won't get them their money any faster. Put him to work so he can work off his debt. Making him sit in a cell solves nothing.

For some judges, being a hard-ass devotee to draconian laws is all the reason they need.

The kid spent only one night in jail, even though it was supposed to be nine days. I don't see where the judge is trying to be a hard ass.

I don't see where jail is warranted for unpaid tickets due to hardship at all, it's just piling misery on top of misery.

And the far left shows that if they do not like the laws they should not be obeyed..

The only laws that exist for the far left are the ones they claim to exist.

 

[boedicca]

Methinks the OP has focused on the wrong issue. The issue is Intrusive and Oppressive Big Government that turns everyone into a criminal for two main purposes: Control and Money.

 

[Donald Polish]

Puzzling......What is the point of this? Locking the kid up won't get them their money any faster. Put him to work so he can work off his debt. Making him sit in a cell solves nothing.

Exactly. You can't get blood from a rock. So instead of sticking someone with a fine they can't pay, which means they land in jail which costs the taxpayers more money, why not figure out some other way for them to pay their debt to society?

 

[PredFan]

You can't pay the fine, don't do the crime.

He isn't being punished for being poor, he's being punished for committing a crime and then not paying the fine.

Putting anyone in jail for a simple traffic infraction because they cannot afford to pay the fine is counterproductive, a complete waste of law enforcement and judicial time and resources, and a travesty of justice. It would be far more productive and cost effective to simply allow those who cannot pay to perform a public service such as working at a homeless shelter X number of hours.

Several questions must be asked:

1. If he doesn't have the money to pay the fine, how does he have the money to drive a car?
2. You complain about the time and resources putting them in jail but what about the time and resources to assign them to work someplace and monitor them while they do it?
3. What is to stop people from simply not paying the fine, and picking up trash instead whenever they get a ticket?
4. When you assign him to work in a shelter or someplace else, will the media and the left begin to complain that because a person is poor, they are made to be slaves?

Nope. Do the crime, pay the fine. It's that way for me, it should be that way for everyone. Period. I've no sympathy for him.

 

[PredFan]

Puzzling......What is the point of this? Locking the kid up won't get them their money any faster. Put him to work so he can work off his debt. Making him sit in a cell solves nothing.

Exactly. You can't get blood from a rock. So instead of sticking someone with a fine they can't pay, which means they land in jail which costs the taxpayers more money, why not figure out some other way for them to pay their debt to society?

If he doesn't have any money, how the fuck is he driving a car?

 

[ScienceRocks]

Puzzling......What is the point of this? Locking the kid up won't get them their money any faster. Put him to work so he can work off his debt. Making him sit in a cell solves nothing.

Exactly. You can't get blood from a rock. So instead of sticking someone with a fine they can't pay, which means they land in jail which costs the taxpayers more money, why not figure out some other way for them to pay their debt to society?

If he doesn't have any money, how the fuck is he driving a car?

Why not help him get a job? Or maybe we as a society can loan him enough to go to college in order to get a skill for a job.

 

[Missouri_Mike]

So I guess nobody needs to pay the fine for not getting obiecare since they can't afford it. No jail time for that either. So we basically have laws that nobody respects and there are no penalties for.

 

[Preacher]

Been there before. Was arrested in December for a stupid ticket I couldn't afford to pay. Had to borrow it from my folks...paid them back but not the point it was idiotic to begin with. Son of a bitches gave me 2 tickets. 1 for speeding which was bullshit as it was a speed trap and I was pulling a uhaul trailer loaded so was kind of hard to be speeding and 2nd one because didn't have right tag on wife's car bc we hadn't got it yet. They combined them into 1 275$ ticket. I couldn't pay it up front so the "justice"
system put me on probation which was ANOTHER 72$ a MONTH! Cost me over 400$ to get out of jail for a stupid ticket. Its a racket and should be prosecuted...no idea where money is going they extort from us because roads still suck...probably to new toys for pigs to use.

 

[PredFan]

Puzzling......What is the point of this? Locking the kid up won't get them their money any faster. Put him to work so he can work off his debt. Making him sit in a cell solves nothing.

Exactly. You can't get blood from a rock. So instead of sticking someone with a fine they can't pay, which means they land in jail which costs the taxpayers more money, why not figure out some other way for them to pay their debt to society?

If he doesn't have any money, how the fuck is he driving a car?

Why not help him get a job? Or maybe we as a society can loan him enough to go to college in order to get a skill for a job.

Now you are talking about something else entirely. Unless you are suggesting that the punishment for committing a crime and not paying the fine be getting a job.

 

[TyroneSlothrop]

Civil group files lawsuit to help man imprisoned for failing to pay fines.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has filed a federal lawsuit against officials in DeKalb County, Georgia after a judge imprisoned a black teenager who was too poor to pay $838 in fines. It all started with a traffic ticket near his home.
ACLU attorneys are now asking for an end to a process which, according to the group, allows indignant and impoverished Americans to be wrongly imprisoned for not being able to afford fees.
"Being poor is not a crime. Yet across the county, the freedom of too many people unfairly rests on their ability to pay traffic fines and fees they cannot afford," Nusrat Choudhury, an attorney with the group’s Racial Justice Program, said in a statement this week. "We seek to dismantle this two-tiered system of justice that punishes the poorest among us, disproportionately people of color, more harshly than those with means."
This union is absolutely a stupid organization of full idlers. They would rather wonder who is this teenager and why he doesn't work? They seem to misunderstand the meaning of the word "poverty". What a stupid situation so normal to America!

I totally agree 110%. We live in a F**ked up country where "freedom" in non-existent. In America, your freedom is your luck, plain and simple. Not only do we imprison the poor and less fortunate members of society, but we also imprison the innocent. Something has gone terribly wrong in America, and it's getting way out of hand.

and if that was not bad enough they are proud of this and think they are just marvelous for feeling the way they do

"Being poor may not be a crime but it might as well be"

 

[Sonny Clark]

Civil group files lawsuit to help man imprisoned for failing to pay fines.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has filed a federal lawsuit against officials in DeKalb County, Georgia after a judge imprisoned a black teenager who was too poor to pay $838 in fines. It all started with a traffic ticket near his home.
ACLU attorneys are now asking for an end to a process which, according to the group, allows indignant and impoverished Americans to be wrongly imprisoned for not being able to afford fees.
"Being poor is not a crime. Yet across the county, the freedom of too many people unfairly rests on their ability to pay traffic fines and fees they cannot afford," Nusrat Choudhury, an attorney with the group’s Racial Justice Program, said in a statement this week. "We seek to dismantle this two-tiered system of justice that punishes the poorest among us, disproportionately people of color, more harshly than those with means."
This union is absolutely a stupid organization of full idlers. They would rather wonder who is this teenager and why he doesn't work? They seem to misunderstand the meaning of the word "poverty". What a stupid situation so normal to America!

I totally agree 110%. We live in a F**ked up country where "freedom" in non-existent. In America, your freedom is your luck, plain and simple. Not only do we imprison the poor and less fortunate members of society, but we also imprison the innocent. Something has gone terribly wrong in America, and it's getting way out of hand.

and if that was not bad enough they are proud of this and think they are just marvelous for feeling the way they do

"Being poor may not be a crime but it might as well be"

Those that created our poor and dependent society, are the very ones punishing the poor. It's akin to kicking someone when they're already down.

 

[TyroneSlothrop]

"I had to take a two day job to get my guitar out of hock...but that the way you are going when you got no dough to make bail"

 

[TyroneSlothrop]

[
Those that created our poor and dependent society, are the very ones punishing the poor. It's akin to kicking someone when they're already down.

The GOP loves the poor so much they made millions of newly poor people ....