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Comment by maratd | Hacker News Reader

> This is actually modern day slavery

Yes, it is. And contrary to the assertion of the article, this sort of thing happens pretty much in every town in the US.

If you owe the court money and you don't pay ... you'll be thrown in jail. Can't pay the fine? Jail. Behind on your alimony payments? Jail. The government always gets paid.

The worst part is that the people who get caught up in this are not exactly model citizens. Not exactly a clear case for sympathy.

Regardless, debtor prisons are barbaric, period.

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Following the rulings in Tate and Bearden, the state cannot imprison a defendant who has been convicted of a crime that has a sentence of a fine and is legitimately unable to pay. To do otherwise would allow the conversion of a sentence from fine to imprisonment based entirely on the financial status of the offender. However, if the court determines an offender can pay and is refusing to, then all bets are off.

>the state cannot imprison a defendant who has been convicted of a crime that has a sentence of a fine and is legitimately unable to pay.

That's assuming the court is obligated to evaluate the person's ability to pay. A person could be in the system for months or years before the court conducts an evaluation.

The issue with child support is that the state child support agencies often rely on bureau of labor figures to determine what someone with a particular job "should" be making, and don't consider variance in wages or cost of living when levying child support rates. So while the payments might be reasonable according to some bureaucrats rule book, they aren't reasonable in the real world (a common issue is men with large child support obligations wanting to start another family).

There have been numerous cases of actors whose child support obligations were set at the peak of their career and yet the CSA still expects them to be making the same money.

> The worst part is that the people who get caught up in this are not exactly model citizens. Not exactly a clear case for sympathy.

Are you saying you fail to sympathize with them because those people are poor?

The U.S. have a reputation of giving everyone the same chance to make their own fortune, regardless of status. When you're thrown into prison, unable to pay back the debt that got you there in the first place, this is like the opposite of that reputation. There's no way out.

Whatever happened to "Give me your tired, your poor?"

> Are you saying you fail to sympathize with them because those people are poor?

These people aren't in trouble because they're poor.

They're in trouble because they're criminals, mentally unstable, deadbeat dads, lazy, or just plain stupid.

They're the worst we have to offer as a society. Because they're the worst, it's very difficult to sympathize with them.

That said, debtor prisons are barbaric and they're barbaric even when applied to the worst elements. Even though these people are scum, they should not be treated this way!

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