Crime Pays

I’ve done a lot of activism and organizing in Oklahoma and this research really hit home. Oklahoma has one of the highest incarceration rates in the country and some of the worst government services to go along with it. One of their major “reforms” in criminal justice over the past decades has been to monetize the process. District Attorney fees, county jail fees (per night of your stay), drug court fees and dramatic expansions of the fines on all manner of violations have led to a rapid increase in the number of people incarcerated for some version of failure to pay.

While you cannot be locked up strictly for not having money, you can get locked up for failure to appear in court to deal with the thousands of dollars in fines and fees you can’t afford. Obviously, this dramatically affects the lower class. A rich guy gets a DUI, pays his several thousand dollars in legal and state fees, and goes on his way, while a poor person loses their license, their job, and likely their freedom in the process. As in most things in capitalism, it is best to follow the money.