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Re:Think Debtors Prisons Are a Thing of the Past? Not in Mis... by SamReidHughes on Saturday January 11, 2020 @10:30PM (#22024277)
If you get convicted for embezzlement, as in the first example in the article, and don't pay your fines and restitution, what do you think the courts should do?
Re:Think Debtors Prisons Are a Thing of the Past? Not in Mis... by rtpg on Saturday January 11, 2020 @11:43PM (#22024532)
Wage garnishing is easy? If you have an employer then now they are on the hook for following through as well.

Hell, shut down the restitution centers and use that budget to help cover court fees instead!

Think about it: if someone gets fined $10,000 and is working minimum wage, is there really anything good accomplished by trying to recover that much? Just cap out some wage garnishment scheme if you want to fine them.

Re:Think Debtors Prisons Are a Thing of the Past? Not in Mis... by SamReidHughes on Sunday January 12, 2020 @12:03AM (#22024594)
The criminal has an actual victim who needs his money back. It's pretty important to him (or her) that he gets his money back. Maybe she could pay the restitution with the money she embezzled.

She also skipped her meeting with her probation officer, more than once, and she didn't report to the probation officer (or the court, whatever) that she got an increase in income, when she got her job at Harrah's. Funny, that.

They don't mention that in the article, do they.

Here's the hearing transcript: https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6598211-Annita-Husba...

Re:Think Debtors Prisons Are a Thing of the Past? Not in Mis... by rtpg on Sunday January 12, 2020 @01:12AM (#22024779)
- the fines are not merely around making victims whole. There’s also just fines as punishment on top of that

- even if they are just about that, do you think that a debtors prison is going to get that money back sooner?

- given how being broke in America is basically a death sentence, I have empathy for people trying to scrape by

- (now we’re in income reporting reform!) why isn’t Harrahs reporting the wage increase? Why even give opportunities for lies/mistakes/omissions?

Even if what you said is true, putting people in jail is not super ethical nor is it useful at accomplishing much for society, for the individuals involved, and “punishment as deference” is disproved so much.

Not seeing the argument for this programs continued existence

Re:Think Debtors Prisons Are a Thing of the Past? Not in Mis... by lsiebert on Sunday January 12, 2020 @02:18AM (#22024994)
Per the article, most of the money wasn't used for restitution, and many individuals are arrested for merely not paying fines and fees, no restitution given.

That's just criminalizing being poor.

Re:Think Debtors Prisons Are a Thing of the Past? Not in Mis... by FireBeyond on Sunday January 12, 2020 @05:15PM (#22029924)
Absolutely they mentioned it in the article.
Re:Think Debtors Prisons Are a Thing of the Past? Not in Mis... by SamReidHughes on Sunday January 12, 2020 @05:18PM (#22029944)
Where do they mention that she didn't report an increase in income?
Re:Think Debtors Prisons Are a Thing of the Past? Not in Mis... by JimmyAustin on Saturday January 11, 2020 @10:34PM (#22024292)
Wage garnishment?
Re:Think Debtors Prisons Are a Thing of the Past? Not in Mis... by quickthrower2 on Saturday January 11, 2020 @11:55PM (#22024576)
Should be treated like unsecured debt. Bankruptcy being an option.
Re:Think Debtors Prisons Are a Thing of the Past? Not in Mis... by fzeroracer on Sunday January 12, 2020 @01:03AM (#22024752)
So let's expand that out.

Every crime has a monetary value. Once someone has gone to prison and paid their debt to society, is there any good reason according to you that we shouldn't then throw them in another prison until they pay restitution?

Hell, maybe it's even a good thing that silcon valley could disrupt. Let's have companies skim a bit off the top and build smart prisons. They get to spend longer in debtor prison and others earn more money, it's a win/win.

Re:Think Debtors Prisons Are a Thing of the Past? Not in Mis... by SamReidHughes on Sunday January 12, 2020 @01:07AM (#22024763)
Because she was skipping meetings with her probation officer, you can infer she hasn't paid her debt to society.

Not to mention, you know, the actual debt that she owed.

Re:Think Debtors Prisons Are a Thing of the Past? Not in Mis... by fzeroracer on Sunday January 12, 2020 @01:09AM (#22024771)
I don't care about the particulars of the individual and you focusing on that is clearly deliberate to avoid discussing the actual topic at hand.

What I'm talking about is that these sort of facilities shouldn't exist at all, full stop. Do you think that people that say, couldn't afford to pay their speeding ticket right away should be thrown into prison until they pay their debt?

Re:Think Debtors Prisons Are a Thing of the Past? Not in Mis... by SamReidHughes on Sunday January 12, 2020 @05:27AM (#22025563)
I agree, embezzlers with priors should get a 15 year minimum sentence. Instead, Husband got let out(!) and had to meet a $250/month minimum payment. Far too lenient.

It sounds to me like they’re actually trying to rehabilitate her. How much of her 7 year sentence has she actually served?