Alabama judge orders poor defendants to give blood to avoid jail

Courts charge money for court fees and fines. In many cases, if you don't pay those fees, you could be imprisoned. In an effort to increase blood donations, the court temporarily accepted blood donation receipts in lieu of cash.

I don't have a problem with this. In effect, the court is paying people (by forgiving debt) to donate blood.

It sounds like a) it was poorly worded by the judge and b) people didn't understand. He should have said, "If you're unable to pay your court fees or fines today, you may be imprisoned." (Something he probably says every day.) Then, "Please note that we're accepting blood donation receipts in lieu of cash for court fees and fines today."