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Debtors' Prison

News and Awards September 29, 2021
The Marshall Project Wins Collier Prize for State Government Accountability
Award Shared with Mississippi Today Recognizes “Mississippi Penal System, Uncovered,” Series on Practices in State Prison System
By The Marshall Project
Eliza McSwain works the cash register at a McDonald’s restaurant in Brandon, Miss. She was one of several people hired by the local fast food franchise from the Mississippi Department of Corrections’ restitution center program.
Analysis January 9, 2020
How We Investigated Mississippi’s Modern-Day Debtors Prisons
A tip led us to a little-known program that affected hundreds of poor workers.
By Anna Wolfe and Michelle Liu
Feature January 9, 2020
Think Debtors Prisons Are a Thing of the Past? Not in Mississippi.
How the state’s “restitution program” forces poor people to work off small debts.
By Anna Wolfe and Michelle Liu
Madison and Rankin counties District Attorney Michael Guest, outside the Madison County Justice Court.
News February 7, 2018
Mississippi Moonlighting
Congressional hopeful, district attorney, debt collector.
By
Judge David Boling, left, and Judge Tommy Fowler ran for judicial office as reformers who would alter the relationship between the the citizens of Craighead County, Arkansas and a private probation company called The Justice Network. They did, and got sued for it by the company.
Case in Point September 11, 2017
Is There a Constitutional Right to Cash in on the Poor?
One Arkansas county takes on a private probation company.
By
News October 1, 2015
How to Fight Modern-Day Debtors’ Prisons? Sue the Courts.
Alec Karakatsanis’s quest to stop courts from punishing poor people who can’t pay their fees.
By
News February 24, 2015
Debtors’ Prisons, Then and Now: FAQ
Congress outlawed them. The Supreme Court ruled them unconstitutional. Yet they live on.
By
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