During the economic downturn, lots of cash strapped states found myriad ways to raise additional revenue out of the criminal justice system.  Not infrequently, courts were in concert or supportive of these strategies on the theory that it was essential to keep the courts and the justice system open.  But, as this series shows, we are paying (actually poor people are exclusively paying) a very steep price:

A report from National Public Radio, produced with the help of the Brennan Center and  National Center for State Courts, examines how criminal justice debt, the result of cash-strapped states and localities charging offenders fees for everything from public defenders to prison costs, is a growing problem. On Morning Edition, Lauren-Brooke Eisen explained that these policies are often counterintuitive. “These fines and fees create new pathways back to jail and prison. You’re just sending these people back not even for committing a crime, but just for missing a payment.” Alicia Bannon, who helped NPR conduct a nationwide survey on state court fees, joined All Things Considered. In an editorial, the The New York Times drew attention to the series and the Brennan Center’s research, and called the system “unjust and counterproductive.” Increasingly these fines extend even to juveniles, Eisen told Marketplace: “In recent years, about 20 state legislatures passed laws holding parents responsible for their children’s crimes.”