Jailed for $280: The Return of Debtors' Prisons

Little Story:

I wrote a check to a local grocery store for the amount of $40.27. They finally deposited it about three weeks later, and when it hit my checking account it caused and overdraft by $7.00. Admittedly that was my own fault for not transferring more from savings, however that is what overdraft protection is for. Money is supposed to automatically be transferred from savings to checking but my credit union was changing their policy on how many transfers were allowed per month. Once I was notified of the OD, I simply opened the app on my phone for my bank and moved more than enough to cover the check, as well as the fee for the overdraft.

2 years later....
I hear gunshots in my backyard and soon afterward see multiple police cars surrounding a house about 75 yards from my backdoor. About 20 minutes later I get a knock at the door and its an armed police officer asking me if I had heard anything. To which I replied that I had heard 6 gunshots. He radioed the other officers and then asked me for my id so that he could verify who I was. I thought this was a bit strange considering that I had done nothing but agree to his request to speak with a detective if need be. I complied and he ran my id and told me to go back inside. About 30 min later he and 4 other officers knocked on my door to tell me that I had a warrant for theft by check and that they could take me to jail right then if they wanted to. The officer gave me a number to call to take care of it. The next day I called, and to my surprise (sarcasm) there was no record of a warrant ever being issued for my arrest. I continued calling over the next few days but still no warrant was found. Finally at the end of the week I get a call from a deputy telling me that I have to turn myself in for this warrant. I asked him why I cant just pay a fine and be done with it, considering this was a monetary infraction and all they want is their money? He told me that was not possible and that it was a jailable offense. He then lied and said that if I were to make arrangements to turn myself in the next morning at 8 o'clock that I would be released before lunch and pay a small fine and be done with it.
Needless to say, I spent about 17 hours in jail. Got there at 8 in the morning, wasn't officially booked in to where I could even qualify for bail until 8 that evening. Then entire time I watched over a dozen officers do absolutely nothing besides eat and chat. Five hundred dollars later I was released and given a court date. After 6 hours of sitting in court I was given $400 back and told that the case had been dropped.
All this for 40 bucks and a bank error... Pretty obvious who the police are protecting and serving.

reply to post by Nucleardiver


Excellent Post NuclearDiver, from one squid to another

The country I served during my active years is not the same country any longer, or at least not the country I envisioned at the time I was in active duty. We have been taken over by the fascist Multinational Corporations and the Financial Institutions wherein we only exist to serve them, rather them serving the country.

We need to shrink the government and take their power away one way or the other.

reply to post by Magnum007


I have had bills for dental work that was never performed go to collections because the company didn't believe me that I did not get a root canal they billed me for, and I refused to pay.

Point being that not all bills are justified, and sometimes all you can do is refuse to pay.

Originally posted by jacobe001
reply to post by Nucleardiver

 

Excellent Post NuclearDiver, from one squid to another

The country I served during my active years is not the same country any longer, or at least not the country I envisioned at the time I was in active duty. We have been taken over by the fascist Multinational Corporations and the Financial Institutions wherein we only exist to serve them, rather them serving the country.

We need to shrink the government and take their power away one way or the other.

Remember the movie "The Mutant Chronicles?" the two fighting powers were armies of corporations, not countries. lol

reply to post by myartisstrong


I love seeing someones first post. Always cool to see the topic that made them break down and make an account just to reply.

Anyway, that is a terrible story. Did you change banks? I recently had an overdraft with my credit union for weeks, and didn't get a fee or anything, even with no money to cover it in savings.

No one should use banks anymore. Go to a non-profit credit union and stop shoving money into the fat cat bankers pockets!!

All we hear from yanks is America #1! USA! USA!USA!USA! And how hard you are with all of your guns and that piece of paper called the constitution that not only gives you the right to bear arms but to also use them against tyrannical government....

Is it not about time you lot took your country back or are you all just going to vent on a website, forget about it and hope your new messiah Ron Paul sorts it out when he does NOT get into power??

Delusional much??

If you tolerate this then what next?

First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me

reply to post by myartisstrong


Sad story, but not surprising since the police serve the elite in the government and their policies they enact, rather than serving the best interest of the people of this country. The policies are enacted by special interests, in order to extract more wealth and power from us, not the common American. We have lost a lot of freedoms these past few years.

reply to post by EvanB


At the time the constitution was written, the founding fathers granted the citizens equal fire power, to be able to take on the government should they become corrupted. The gun was the main tool of weaponry then.

In order to continue in the same spirit that the founding fathers envisioned, common citizens, should they be able to afford it, should also be allowed to own all weaponry that has advanced since then in order to match fire power with fire power.

The ability to just keep guns, and low keys ones at that, is a psychological token for the masses that poses no threat to their corruption.

Originally posted by The Sword
reply to post by ArchPlayer

 

They aren't going to ever get that far as long as there are over 300 million people willing to fight them.

They can stick their "new feudalism" where the sun don't shine.

In fact, more people should think about breaking their shackles for good. Why work for a bunch of goons?

There aren't over 300 million people willing to fight them. For every ten people who speak up about how frustrated they are, how they feel their rights are being trampled, and how they would love to show the government "what for", probably a solid nine of them will stay sitting when the opportunity arises, because they are too comfortable, lazy, apathetic, or scared to take action. Probably a combination of them.

When I sit and think about it, there are a bit under 700 elected officials who control the lives of over 300 million people - and they are pressing on us and pressing on us until we either peacefully standup and say their time is over, or keep being pushed until the inevitable revolution occurs.

I won't lie - I feel frustrated and want to take action, but beyond regularly writing my local government, senators and congressmen, I feel there's very little else I can do; and even that action is already far and above what most people do.

My worry is when the breaking point comes, if the line between neo-feudalism or aristocracy starts being drawn, is that the people will just lay back and take it as they are already feeling so beaten. Hell, I'm not sure what I'd do if that happened either. Go out guns blazing? I have a kid to think about, like a lot of people, and my core family. That's some powerful leverage against the people that can be utilized by the government.

Originally posted by EvanB

All we hear from yanks is America #1! USA! USA!USA!USA! And how hard you are with all of your guns and that piece of paper called the constitution that not only gives you the right to bear arms but to also use them against tyrannical government....

Is it not about time you lot took your country back or are you all just going to vent on a website, forget about it and hope your new messiah Ron Paul sorts it out when he does NOT get into power??

Delusional much??

If you tolerate this then what next?

First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me

edit on 24-4-2012 by EvanB because: (no reason given)

Yanks? So you are either an Aussie, where most firearms are illegal or the UK, the country with the most surveillance cameras per sq mile in the world?
My point is, you have no room to talk.

A significant part of the prison population is there because they cannot pay their court ordered fines, probation cost, or not being able to afford 'treatment', ect.. If they start putting people in prison for not paying student loans things could get ugly.

It is sad how few realize America's working population is becoming enslaved by debt. Now with the threat of imprisonment for not paying debts we become more enslaved. Something has to give, but there is not much fight in someone how is well fed and has plenty of entertainment, as long as the vast majority get their bread and circuses nothing will be done about it.

There chasing around debtors, and criminals are running and gunning in the streets. Gangs are taking over neighborhoods and holding them hostage, but the coppers are out following up leads on deadbeats? Now is there something wrong with that logic? I agree people should pay their bills on time, and blah, blah, blah.

However, I do realize that we are in a deep recession as well, and people who could once afford these expenditures are in no way, shape, or form capable now-a-days. Not a lot of good jobs around lately. At least from my own research into the matter. Can't get blood from a stone, and you can only beat a dead horse so many times.

The best advice to anyone is to avoid situations like this. Such as, keeping their overhead as low as possible, dutifully keeping tabs on spending and account balances, staying away from loans whether auto, student, or home, and especially let them keep their credit cards. With stories like the one in the OP and others? The Jackals will look for any way to kick a guy while they are down. Trust me, they would be breaking knees if they could like Guido the neighborhood loan shark.

There is plenty of aggravation and inconvenience, and why make it worse with this crap? Still, I feel the courts should deal with this matters on a case by case basis, and with a little more compassion within the confines of the law of course. There are plenty of things for the courts to itemize their time with than petty debts and such. Just my opinion.

All matters of legality aside, how much is jail time worth?

I would surely be more apt to have more contempt if I was jailed for a debt, and probably less able to pay the debt anyway. In other words, the "system" would just make me more unwilling, or unable, to pay.

reply to post by ArchPlayer

The courts are the worst offenders in this. The traffic code is written specifically for the generation of municipal funding. Think about all of the times you've driven streets with a ridicuosly low speed limit or traffic lights that are not timed correctly, meaning you must stop every couple of intersections, and on and on. What I find myself believing is the whole government control becoming so broad that we are like fish swimming in the waters of regulations, codes, statutes and such that we've lost the ability to even see the control - like a fish that has no conscious awareness of the fact of the water.
Think of it this way: Why do we give anyone, especially our local government, to force us to stop when we travel when there are simple, less costly methods that would allow all of us to travel unimpeded from any point to any other point? Why not put in more traffic circles, bring courtesy and respect to our driving through engineering that reduces the likelihood of collisions or conflict? Besides, how are the local governments going to fund themselves when the cars drive themselves through GPS and computers?
I fear what will replace the traffic laws

reply to post by ArchPlayer


this is irresponsible reporting at best, and even more so, criminal behavior if you ask me.

The person was not jailed because they owed a debt, they were jailed because they ignored a mandatory summons to court in order to determine eligibility to pay.

They had already lost the court battle, probably by default, and the person who is owed money is seeking garnishments. You *HAVE TO* show up to those proceedings.

To say this woman was jailed for her debt is complete and utter non sense. Report news like a journalist, not like an MSNBC or Faux News pundit. Shameful non sense to blast on ATS.

Our Prisons are so drastically over crowded as it is , jailing people who default or can't make payments or wont would require a MAJOR add-on to the prison system and would cost the state and federal government massive amounts of money we can't afford.

I doubt anything comes of this. They can't afford to jail you and they sure as hell don't have room.

----

I actually read the article , i am not sure if that Bill would be nation wide or simply in Illinois.

reply to post by PrimePorkchop


If you would read the Article. The Creditors are abusing the system , filing a law suit knowing that the person can't show up or afford legal fees. Then they are arrested legally for a debt they can't afford.

However , they are working on a bill it seems to stop that , which i agree.

The last thing some one wants to be is humiliated in court because they are can't afford to pay the bills. Hell , i wouldn't show up either.

----

The last thing the Justice System or the Government for that matter needs to do is punish people for being in debt and cant pay. The government has not lead by example , neither have the states. If any one is to be punished , it should be the government. 15 Trillion in Debt and counting , knowing we cant pay that back at any point in time.

reply to post by PsykoOps


Good idea, my friend. I'd almost call it brilliant, but not without first seeing it in action. Seems to me, though, that with the government buying the debt and collecting it in taxes, well, that could be a whole new can of worms

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


excuse me but what do you mean by "Government there is fit for the Russian Federation, not the United States" are you implying that people in america are somehow better than Russian People and that they do not deserve "freedom" like an american?. please can you clarify this?

I want to think that you are an inteligent person that thinks before speaking,

reply to post by purplemer


Not entirely true. A creditor can ask the courts for an enforcement order, and if you don't have any goods they can sieze, the court can mandate a repayment schedule.

If you then break that repayment schedule, thats contempt of court, and you can be jailed for it.

debtor's prison is something that comes back when any given country becomes a house of cards

authorities become afraid for ever cent, never realizing they are the reason we are in the shi@#$

Why Rumsfeld in 2001 said we can't account for 2 trillion dollars