The Hidden Cost of Incarceration

[Nevilledog]

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The Marshall Project
@MarshallProj
The Bureau of Justice Statistics says the United States spends more than $80 billion each year to keep roughly 2.3 million people behind bars. That figure leaves out myriad hidden costs borne by prisoners and their loved ones — shouldered mostly by women.

The Hidden Cost of Incarceration
Prison costs taxpayers $80 billion a year. It costs some families everything they have.
themarshallproject.org
9:24 AM · May 17, 2021

https://www.themarshallproject.org/2019/12/17/the-hidden-cost-of-incarceration


Every month, Telita Hayes adds nearly $200 to the commissary account for her ex-husband, William Reese, who has been in the Louisiana State Penitentiary for 28 years.

Each prisoner there is given three meals a day and some personal hygiene items, like soap and toothpaste. But when Reese gets hungry between meals, or when his state-issued supplies run out, the commissary money buys him extra food and other necessities.

That is not the only way his imprisonment drains her wallet. On top of the $2,161 she has put in his commissary account so far this year, Hayes has paid $3,586 in charges for talking to him on the phone when she cannot make the hourlong drive to the prison, and even $419 for emails sent through the prison’s email system.

The Bureau of Justice Statistics reckons that the United States spends more than $80 billion each year to keep roughly 2.3 million people behind bars. Many experts say that figure is a gross underestimate, though, because it leaves out myriad hidden costs that are often borne by prisoners and their loved ones, with women overwhelmingly shouldering the financial burden. These costs rise during the holiday season, relatives of people in prison say, as they make more visits, call more often and send more care packages.

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[Johnny2X2X]

1. It's all completely ridiculous and designed to keep people paying forever

Email is free for the jails, they decided to make money on it, they make money of free phone calls, on commissary, and on everything else. And the end result is total economic devastation for families and debt to pay off for inmates that if they fail to pay they'll end up back in jail and accruing more debt. there is no rehabilitation, just a defeating of hope and accruement of massive debt.

The CJ system in the US is designed to get young men involved from an early age and keep them paying for their whole lives.