Jailed for $280: The Return of Debtors' Prisons

[Ought Six]

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/jailed...--prisons.html

[Antropologo]

debtors aren't arrested for nonpayment, but rather for failing to respond to court hearings, pay legal fines, or otherwise showing "contempt of court" in connection with a creditor lawsuit.

It's not going to prison for debt. Rather it is going to prison as a consequence of not obeying a legal summons or some other court ordered action. There is a big difference, but it is obvious easily spun to make it seem like you'll get thrown in jail for nonpayment of your credit card.

What is more likely is that the individual got a bill and then ignored it because she thought it was wrong. So she got another bill saying that the account would get sold to collections, but she ignored that memo too. So the collections tried to get her to pay, but she didn't because she thought it the bill was wrong. So the collections agency sued her to get payment - it's their right to do so and they use their right because they are shameless. So she got a summons related to the suit, but didn't show up. So she got fined in contempt and got a warrant sent out for her.

That was the point where a civil matter became a criminal matter and ended up with her going to jail. While it's true that the process started because of a civil matter such as a debt, that wasn't the reason she was imprisoned. It was because she was criminally negligent in that some court ordered action was ignored.

I have no sympathy here. She let the situation spiral out of control, so she earned her punishment.

[Ought Six]

Originally Posted by Antropologo

It's not going to prison for debt. Rather it is going to prison as a consequence of not obeying a legal summons or some other court ordered action. There is a big difference, but it is obvious easily spun to make it seem like you'll get thrown in jail for nonpayment of your credit card.

What is more likely is that the individual got a bill and then ignored it because she thought it was wrong. So she got another bill saying that the account would get sold to collections, but she ignored that memo too. So the collections tried to get her to pay, but she didn't because she thought it the bill was wrong. So the collections agency sued her to get payment - it's their right to do so and they use their right because they are shameless. So she got a summons related to the suit, but didn't show up. So she got fined in contempt and got a warrant sent out for her.

That was the point where a civil matter became a criminal matter and ended up with her going to jail. While it's true that the process started because of a civil matter such as a debt, that wasn't the reason she was imprisoned. It was because she was criminally negligent in that some court ordered action was ignored.

I have no sympathy here. She let the situation spiral out of control, so she earned her punishment.

You obviously did not bother to read the article at all.

[Sonny]

Originally Posted by Ought Six

You obviously did not bother to read the article at all.

"" Some Florida counties also use so-called collection courts, where debtors can be jailed but have no right to a public defender. ""

[Antropologo]

Originally Posted by Ought Six

You obviously did not bother to read the article at all.

On the contrary, you are displaying a gross misunderstanding of the article and seem to blindly accept to thesis that people are getting sent to jail for nonpayment.

The article clearly states:

debtors aren't arrested for nonpayment, but rather for failing to respond to court hearings, pay legal fines, or otherwise showing "contempt of court" in connection with a creditor lawsuit

In these cases, the defendant may be a debtor, however it is their criminal non-compliance that gets them thrown in jail.

To try to say that they are being jailed for the debt itself is wrong and seems to be an attempt to paint these people as victims, but the reality is that their lack of personal responsibility (i.e. failure to comply with the justice system) lead them to the point where they are today.

[Ought Six]

Originally Posted by Antropologo

On the contrary, you are displaying a gross misunderstanding of the article and seem to blindly accept to thesis that people are getting sent to jail for nonpayment.

I love it when people tell me 'what I think', and are so totally dead wrong.

You expounded on the contempt of court issue as if it had not already been explained, when in fact the article clearly stated that already. You speculated at length as to how the woman ended up in her predicament, when that was also already explained in the article. It was only natural to conclude that you had not read the article.