duplicate restitution

[Kane]

I don't agree. Most people who have money would rather pay money than go to jail. Your son, for example, could go to jail, rather than pay the fines. But he won't do that, at least voluntarily. No matter what you hear from the conservative media, jail in not a good place to be. Anyone who's been there, will tell you that.

 

[SinkingFast]

Most people who have money would rather pay money than go to jail.

That's the very reason I keep trying to convince everybody that the co-defendant in my son's case WILL pay the restitution!

No matter what you hear from the conservative media, jail is not a good place to be.

I know what you're saying is true. Unfortunately, it's also true that some people don't want to go to jail because (in most cases) it's impossible to feed the addictions that usually send them there. Also, what's up with just forgetting about the money they owe? Why not put the debt on hold until they are released and can go to work?? Does the time spent in jail pay for the additional crime(s)/new charge(s) as well as the former?? Please explain how that makes any sense.

sf

 

[Kane]

Also, what's up with just forgetting about the money they owe? Why not put the debt on hold until they are released and can go to work?? Does the time spent in jail pay for the additional crime(s)/new charge(s) as well as the former?? Please explain how that makes any sense.

As a practical matter, if you put someone in jail and then tell them they owe a debt when they get out, what are you going to do if they don't pay it? Put them back in jail again? And how often are you going to repeat that process? Even private companies eventually write off bad debts.

At some point you just have to realize they don't have the money, and they're not going to come up with it. You also have to consider that every time you send the police after them, and pay to keep them in a cell, you're using resources (police and cells) that could be used to protect the public from violent criminals, rather than people who can't pay their debts.

As a technical matter, when you revoke someone's probation, that probation is over. The prison sentence is in lieu of the probation. (In other words, they're getting prison instead of probation.) Prison is a punishment for not doing what they were supposed to do on probation.

Many times the judge can, if he chooses, order them to pay a fine, in addition to their jail time. However, that gets back to first problem - if they can't pay when they're on probation, how the heck are they going to pay when they're in jail? In any case, a judge can only order what's authorized by statute. Usually that's jail time and/or a fine.

If a judge does order a defendant to pay a fine in addition to jail time, what often happens is either the defendant stays in jail longer (because he can't pay the fine) or his family pays it instead. Neither of those is really a good result, since neither punishing someone's family, nor keeping someone in jail for being poor, is really the point of the criminal justice system.

 

[SinkingFast]

I can't argue with the logic of forgiving someone's debt. And it's not that I personally don't want it forgiven, having been forgiven much in my lifetime. I just get frustrated when I see so many people, who are given another chance to do something better with their lives, throw it away. Yeah, for them it stinks when they get caught and have to go to jail. But the rest of the time it seems as though life is just a big game to see how much they can get away with and how much they can milk from the government, churches, optimistic people who believe they will make a difference, and yeah, broken-hearted parents who keep hoping their kids will see the light.

I guess the reason I first brought up this issue is because of the girl that went to jail for a brief period and had thousands of dollars in restitution, fines, and court costs erased. Now that she no longer has that debt to worry about she is free to spend more on her meth addiction.

As a practical matter, if you put someone in jail and then tell them they owe a debt when they get out, what are you going to do if they don't pay it? Put them back in jail again?

Here's a suggestion: once they are released why not make them accountable for their whereabouts, as well as their place of employment, until the debt is paid (or a certain percentage is paid) by garnishing their wages? Even if it was just a small amount it might serve as a reminder that crime doesn't pay and would ease a little of the taxpayers burden. Oh, but wait...that would be like probation. And what to do if they don't report the required info?

Don't tell me...let me guess...put them back in jail!

(Sorry, couldn't resist)

Anyway, thanks for keeping the thread on track (or at least on track with my rabbit trail) and patiently pointing out the obvious. I will take my cynical self off for a dose of grandbaby love and a reminder that the world is not all bad.

SF