Post by skyloom on Oct 5, 2006 13:34:07 GMT -5
Texas has started to enforce a new policy in its prisons. Since most inmates owe fines and lawyers' fees as a consequence of their convictions, Texas has chosen to begin to deduct those fees from the inmate's trust account. The state begins by taking 20% of the amount it finds in the trust account for the first two or three months, then takes 10% of the amount in the account for the remaining months until the inmate is released or the fees are paid in full.
Money in the inmate's trust account comes from friends and family as well as any small income the prisoner might earn from working a prison job. Generally, prisoners like to use these funds to buy necessities for themselves or perhaps a candy bar or some small treat at the prison commissary, and families want to support their spouses or children by putting what they can into the inmate trust accounts for their loved one.
When the state takes money from the inmate account, it is actually taking money from the prisoner's friends and family. I have no problem with the idea that fines and fees need to be attended to, but I think the prisoner is the one who should do that, either by allocating a part of his or her job earnings to that purpose or by paying off the debt after release when s/he is employed.
The mother of the prisoner I write to put a substantial chunk of money into her daughter's inmate account only to learn that the state confiscated not just 20% but the entire amount... apparently because it had neglected to take anything from the account for the previous several months. Not that there wasn't anything in the account, mind you, but Texas had just neglected to either inform my pen friend about this new law or to take our a small amount each month.
At this point, some families are not going to send in any more money because their intention is to support and sometimes give a little treat to their inmate, not to pay the inmate's legal fees. Some people who work in the prisons also realize that the commissary stores will lose business if prisoners don't have any money to spend. I would personally prefer to send my friend some money once in a while but let her decide if she wants to buy herself some stamps or if she'd rather pay on her fines with the money.
I'd like to write a letter to the editor of a newspaper that's widely read in Texas and a letter to the state legislators as well. Has anyone else heard about this new law? Can we start a campaign to let Texas know that people from all over the country are aware of what's going on? Or are there far more pressing concerns to deal with in Texas?
Texas really is a whole other country, isn't it?
Money in the inmate's trust account comes from friends and family as well as any small income the prisoner might earn from working a prison job. Generally, prisoners like to use these funds to buy necessities for themselves or perhaps a candy bar or some small treat at the prison commissary, and families want to support their spouses or children by putting what they can into the inmate trust accounts for their loved one.
When the state takes money from the inmate account, it is actually taking money from the prisoner's friends and family. I have no problem with the idea that fines and fees need to be attended to, but I think the prisoner is the one who should do that, either by allocating a part of his or her job earnings to that purpose or by paying off the debt after release when s/he is employed.
The mother of the prisoner I write to put a substantial chunk of money into her daughter's inmate account only to learn that the state confiscated not just 20% but the entire amount... apparently because it had neglected to take anything from the account for the previous several months. Not that there wasn't anything in the account, mind you, but Texas had just neglected to either inform my pen friend about this new law or to take our a small amount each month.
At this point, some families are not going to send in any more money because their intention is to support and sometimes give a little treat to their inmate, not to pay the inmate's legal fees. Some people who work in the prisons also realize that the commissary stores will lose business if prisoners don't have any money to spend. I would personally prefer to send my friend some money once in a while but let her decide if she wants to buy herself some stamps or if she'd rather pay on her fines with the money.
I'd like to write a letter to the editor of a newspaper that's widely read in Texas and a letter to the state legislators as well. Has anyone else heard about this new law? Can we start a campaign to let Texas know that people from all over the country are aware of what's going on? Or are there far more pressing concerns to deal with in Texas?
Texas really is a whole other country, isn't it?
