Two Teenagers, Two Outcomes
In 2013, Ethan Couch was a 16-year-old Texan who got drunk,
got behind the wheel with a blood alcohol level three times the legal limit,
and killed four people. His defense? "Affluenza" -- a made-up
condition claiming his wealthy upbringing left him unable to understand
consequences. The judge gave him 10 years probation. No prison time for four
deaths.
That same year, Kalief Browder was a 16-year-old from the
Bronx accused of stealing a backpack. His bail was set at $3,000. His family
could not afford it. So Kalief went to Rikers Island, where he spent three
years -- including two years in solitary confinement -- without ever being
convicted of anything. Prosecutors eventually dropped all charges. Two years
after his release, traumatized beyond repair, Kalief hanged himself. He was 22.
Four deaths, probation. Accused of stealing a backpack,
three years in solitary. The difference? Money.
Source:
https://thesundaydiplomat.com/disparities-in-the-courtroom-how-justice-favors-the-wealthy/
Source:
https://www.aclu.org/news/smart-justice/kalief-browders-tragic-death-and-criminal-injustice-our-bail-system
* * *
The Numbers
This is not about isolated cases. This is systemic.
Nearly half of all people in American jails have
individual incomes below $10,000 per year.
Source:
https://finesandfeesjusticecenter.org/articles/the-price-of-justice-fines-fees-and-the-criminalization-of-poverty-in-the-united-state/
Over 70% of people in local jails are being held pretrial
-- meaning they have not been convicted of anything. They are legally presumed
innocent. Most are there because they cannot afford bail.
Source:
https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/incomejails.html
The median bail for a felony case is $10,000. The
median annual income for someone in pretrial detention is $15,109. Nearly 40%
of Americans cannot afford a $400 emergency expense.
Source:
https://www.vera.org/ending-mass-incarceration/criminalization-racial-disparities/bail-reform
People detained pretrial are four times more likely to be
sentenced to prison than those released before trial. They are more likely
to plead guilty just to get out, even if innocent.
Source:
https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/how-cash-bail-works
In Brooklyn in 2013, 62% of defendants charged with a misdemeanor
who remained in jail were convicted, compared to only 12% who made bail.
Source:
https://www.aclupa.org/smart-justice-ending-cash-bail/
* * *
Traffic Tickets to Prison
In Macomb County, Michigan, David Stojcevski was arrested
because he could not pay a $772 traffic ticket for careless driving. He was
ordered to spend 30 days in jail. He died on the 17th day after experiencing
seizures and convulsions due to drug withdrawal.
Source:
https://theappeal.org/fines-and-fees-explained-bf4e05d188bf/
In El Paso, Texas, Levi Lane was pulled over for driving
eight miles over the speed limit. Police arrested him for unpaid traffic
tickets -- five of them totaling $3,400. Unable to pay on an $8-an-hour job,
the judge locked him up for 21 days. The judge never asked about his ability to
pay. "I'm not required by law to ask anything," the judge stated.
Source:
https://theappeal.org/fines-and-fees-explained-bf4e05d188bf/
Edward Brown, 62 and homeless, lives on a $488 Social
Security check and food stamps. He was ticketed for having an overgrown lawn
(he was bedridden with a back injury and unable to push a lawnmower) and for
not getting a rabies vaccine for his dog. Total fines: $464. Since 2009, he has
been jailed multiple times -- once for 30 days, another time for 20 days -- for
not paying.
Source:
https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2015/02/09/384968360/jail-time-for-unpaid-court-fines-and-fees-can-create-cycle-of-poverty
In 2014, the city of Ferguson (population 21,000) issued
nearly 33,000 arrest warrants for traffic violations and other low-level
misdemeanors.
Source: https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2015/02/09/384968360/jail-time-for-unpaid-court-fines-and-fees-can-create-cycle-of-poverty
41 states will revoke, suspend, or refuse to renew a
driver's license due to unpaid fines and fees. So you cannot pay the fine,
you lose your license, you drive anyway because you need to get to work, you
get pulled over, you get another ticket, you still cannot pay, you go to jail.
Source:
https://finesandfeesjusticecenter.org/articles/the-price-of-justice-fines-fees-and-the-criminalization-of-poverty-in-the-united-state/
* * *
Fees for Everything
The system charges you at every step:
In 44 states, defendants can be billed for a public defender
-- the lawyer you are constitutionally guaranteed if you cannot afford one.
In 41 states, inmates are charged "room and board"
for their jail and prison stays.
In 44 states, offenders can be billed for their own
probation and parole supervision.
In all states except Hawaii and D.C., there are fees for the
electronic monitoring devices defendants are ordered to wear.
Source:
https://www.americanbar.org/groups/government_public/publications/public_lawyer_articles/fees-fines/
On average, people leaving prison owe $13,607 in fines
and fees.
Source:
https://finesandfeesjusticecenter.org/articles/how-fines-and-fees-criminalize-poverty-explained/
In Alabama alone, an estimated 1,000 people go to jail every
month because they cannot afford to pay a fine.
Source:
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/without-funds-pay-fines-minor-incidents-can-mean-jail
* * *
You Get What You Pay For
80% of people involved with the criminal legal system are
legally indigent -- meaning they cannot afford the necessities of life, let
alone a lawyer.
Source:
https://www.americanprogress.org/article/profit-over-people-primer-on-u-s-cash-bail-systems/
A competent criminal defense lawyer can cost $25,000 or more
upfront. Public defender offices are plagued by unmanageable caseloads, high
turnover, and some of the lowest pay in the profession. In some states, caps on
pay mean lawyers defending poor clients can earn less than minimum wage if they
provide a decent defense.
Source:
https://ejusa.org/resource/poverty-and-poor-legal-defense/
A study of Philadelphia found that representation by a
public defender reduced the likelihood of a guilty charge by 19% and reduced
expected prison terms by 24% -- but that is compared to court-appointed private
attorneys, not high-paid defense teams. The wealthy can hire specialists,
investigators, expert witnesses. The poor get whatever the overworked system
provides.
Source:
https://www.criminallegalnews.org/news/2021/oct/15/study-shows-public-defenders-outperform-court-appointed-private-attorneys/
A Texas judge, when a defendant's lawyer was caught sleeping
through the trial, ruled: "The Constitution guarantees the right to an
attorney. It doesn't say the lawyer has to be awake."
Source:
https://ejusa.org/resource/poverty-and-poor-legal-defense/
* * *
Debtors' Prisons Were Supposed to Be Illegal
In 1983, the Supreme Court ruled in Bearden v. Georgia that
it is unconstitutional to incarcerate people solely for their inability to pay
fines. Courts are supposed to first determine whether the failure to pay was
"willful."
In reality, judges rarely check a person's economic status.
A 2018 study from Philadelphia found that judges did not assess the defendant's
ability to pay their cash bail in two-thirds of cases.
Source:
https://pilr.richmond.edu/2025/02/24/cash-bail-useful-tool-or-inherently-unjust/
"Everyone thinks that debtor's prison is over. It's
behind us. It isn't." -- David Dinelli, Southern Poverty Law Center
Source:
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/without-funds-pay-fines-minor-incidents-can-mean-jail
* * *
The Point
A man in Atlanta was jailed for more than two months because
he could not pay $200 bail. His crime? Standing at an intersection holding a
sign that read "homeless please help."
Source:
https://www.americanbar.org/groups/crsj/publications/human_rights_magazine_home/economic-justice/criminal-justice-debt-problems/
Meanwhile, Jeffrey Epstein pleaded guilty to a sex crime
involving a teenage girl in 2008 and served only a little over a year -- in a
work-release program that allowed him to leave jail for 12 hours a day, six
days a week.
Sources: https://www.amu.apus.edu/area-of-study/legal-studies/resources/inequality-in-the-criminal-justice-system-and-accountability/
; https://www.businessinsider.com/jeffrey-epstein-work-release-program-florida-explainer-2019-7
This is not justice. This is a system where your freedom
depends on your bank account. Where the poor are punished for being poor. Where
you can kill four people and walk free if your parents are wealthy, or spend
three years in solitary for a backpack you did not steal if they are not.
The United States is one of only two nations in the world
that use cash bail. The other is the Philippines.
Source:
https://www.aclupa.org/smart-justice-ending-cash-bail/
"Debt is not a criminal offense. Poverty is not a
crime. Effectively criminalizing poverty through imposing excessive fees and
fines with no appointment of counsel and no hearing on ability to pay is not
only illegal, it amounts to the creation of debtors' prisons." -- Ed
Monahan, former Kentucky chief public defender
Source:
https://www.americanbar.org/groups/government_public/publications/public_lawyer_articles/fees-fines/
* * *
For more of Thomas Richards’ work, visit
SpirituallySmart.com and OvertPsyops.ai.
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