Jailed for being poor is Missouri epidemic: A series of columns from Tony Messenger
Tony Messenger has written about Missouri cases where people were charged for their time in jail or on probation, then owe more money than their fines or court costs.Ìý
(44) updates to this series since
The Pulitzer Prize board considered these columns when it decided to award the prize for commentary to metro columnist Tony Messenger.Ìý
In a twist of irony, one judge no longer calls them “payment review hearings.†Instead, he’s even more direct. Now they are called “debt colle…
“The jail is emptying out. People that do come in are able to bond out quickly. None of the girls here are being held for financial reasons. T…
In a case of civil contempt — such as when a judge jails a reporter for not revealing a source, or an attorney for failing to follow an order …
Even with the state’s top court making progress in eradicating the practice of putting people in jail because they can’t afford to be in jail,…
“There are a pile of cases where people owe us money,†the judge told the defendant, a painter, who said he was having a hard time finding wor…
No longer, the court said in one voice, can judges in Missouri threaten indigent defendants with jail time for their inability to be able to a…
Disparate treatment of people charged with crimes offers a glimpse into a fundamental problem in the application of criminal justice in Missou…
Weiss wants the Legislature to make it illegal for counties to charge defendants for their time behind bars.
“How can they cancel a court date then issue a warrant without even telling you the new court date?†Sharp wonders.
His bill would stop the practice in ÁñÁ«ÊÓƵ of state police agencies avoiding state jurisdiction by seeking asset forfeiture under guise of f…
"He sat in jail because he was poor," public defender Matthew MuellerÌýsaid of his client.
The two defendants are Exhibits A and B of why Missouri has become the front line in a national war on poverty and the courts.
She knows what she did was wrong. She knows she should have been punished.
“It's been a hard road,†she told me recently. “Really hard.â€
For decades, Missouri’s corrections budget has been rising. So has its prison population, with a “tough on crime†philosophy filling prisons w…
“We’re hamstringing the very people who we want to go out and get a job,†Lummus says. “It’s self-defeating.â€
In his regular appearance on the McGraw Milhaven show on KTRS radio, Metro columnist Tony Messenger discusses his ongoing debtors' prison series.
He did his time. Then he got the bill: $3,150 for his stay behind bars.
A year-end update on some of the cases Tony Messenger wrote about during 2018.
The primary difference between the poor people who have been “terrorized†in Edmundson or Jennings or Ferguson, compared with those in Salem a…
The Court of Appeals in the Western District of Missouri determined that the practice of using the courts to try to collect board bills is ill…
Some counties in Missouri don't charge board bills. Those includeÌýthe most urban counties in the state: both the city and county of St. Louis,…
I did my time and then some. This is how they get people. They keep them on probation and then if they don't pay their board bill they violate…
By 2009, Rapp was behind in her payments and the court revoked her probation. She did a couple of days in jail and her cash bond of $400 was a…
Every week in Missouri, a judge somewhere holds a crowded docket to collect room and board from people who were recently in jail. The judges c…
“I don’t see why he has to keep going to court every month,†she says. Sharon uses her Social Security income to try to keep him out of jail. …
Because Precious Jones was late to jail, prosecutor and judge seek to add to her sentence.
The Missouri Supreme Court and Missouri Legislature should revisit their 2015 and 2016 efforts to reform courts. More work is necessary.
Other than now being required to meet federal standards for that drug testing, private probation companies face nearly no oversight in Missour…
“I messed up on probation,†he says. “It was my fault.†Still, he doesn’t think it makes sense that he’s still hauled to court once a month wi…
Murr owed Dent County about $4,000 for her “board bill†for the 95 days she had been jailed.
The domestic violence victim, Gaddis says, wouldn’t make a report to police because she feared going to jail herself and losing her child.Ìý
“They make you jump through hoops,†Bote says, “and then they keep moving the hoops higher.â€
William Everts stole from a church. Almost immediately, he knew it was a bad idea.
Bergen has the sort of back story that would inspire one of the movies or television episodes based in the Ozarks that seem to be all the rage…
Clark ended up spending 495 days in county jail awaiting a trial that still hasn’t come.
Pritchett first called me last year, after I wrote about a St. Francois County woman who was sent to prison for failing to pay court costs. He…
Rob Hopple had been in jail since May after falling behind on payments on an ankle bracelet. Court dates kept coming and going, with the prose…
The bills are that high because the two criminal defendants couldn’t afford to pay for an initial sentence behind bars for relatively minor of…
“The practical reality is that people are being arrested for being poor,†Mueller says. “And there’s nothing they can do about it. They just s…
At least twice in recent years, the Missouri Supreme Court has overturned harsh sentences issued by a judge after she sent people to prison so…
Branson, in early 2018, was in Desloge, Mo., now, living with her 15-year-old son, checking in with her parole officer, hoping never to go bac…
Officially, Victoria Branson’s probation was revoked because she never paid the state the past due support and the court costs, which rang up …
Man did 30 days in jail seven years ago for misdemeanor theft. But Caldwell County judge still seeks to jail him for failing to pay trumped up court costs.Ìý
Despite having already served their time, defendants who owe court costs can't escape the reach of judge who threatens them with jail time if they don't pay.Ìý
Drug testing results are posted online before drug addict's case has been heard in court.Ìý
Defense attorney seeks special prosecutor in drug case, accuses Jerrod Mahurin of failing to turn over documents.
Woman was told if she fired her attorney she could get out of jail. The gambit worked.Ìý
Questions continue to be raised about low-income people being stuck in the St. Francois County jail, unable to make bail.Ìý
For fifth time this year, Jerrod Mahurin delays trial of man already cleared by a state investigation.Ìý
Misdemeanor charge turns into more than $7,000 in jail bills. More than a decade after the crime, judge is trying to collect.Ìý
New law requires drug testing to meet federal standard. More regulation likely on the way.Ìý
The Missouri Supreme Court and Missouri Legislature should revisit their 2015 and 2016 efforts to reform courts. More work is necessary.
Public defender takes up for man hounded by court system. Lafayette County judge and prosecutor object.
Because Precious Jones was late to jail, prosecutor and judge seek to add to her sentence.
While Caldwell County rakes in cash from poor people in its jail, Stoddard County doesn't charge them. Why? It's wrong, says presiding commissioner Greg Mathis.Ìý
Court costs keep St. Louis woman tied to Camden County courts 12 years after she was charged and did her time.Ìý
Public defender's office seeks end to common practice in Missouri, where counties bill both state and indigent defendants for room and board in jail.
Bills filed to reduce counties' financial incentive to put poor people in jail because they can't afford court costs.Ìý
Board bills are debt, court rules, and cannot be used to threaten defendants with more jail time.Ìý
There is a reason there is bipartisan support for criminal justice reform: The criminalization of poverty affects people in all parts of Missouri, nation.Ìý
Private attorneys step up to represent various defendants across the state.
Republican Eric Schmitt says Missouri counties do not have the authority to classify jail debts as court costs or fines.
For Eric Schmitt, his amicus brief in a case before the Missouri Supreme Court is a reprise of his role battling court abuses as a state senator.
New prosecuting attorney joins national trend in seeking to reduce the role of criminal justice system as debt collector.Ìý
Governor rekindles criminal justice reform plan that died in Legislature nine years ago.Ìý
In some Missouri counties, judges try to 'double dip' by collecting jail bills from both the state and defendants.Ìý
ArchCity Defenders attorney helps get warrant for specious probation violation recalled.Ìý
Even as Missouri Supreme Court prepares to address 'jail bill' scheme, woman in Ray County Jail fights for her freedom from it.Ìý
Before Missouri Supreme Court and Missouri Legislature, momentum for eradication of jail board bill scheme builds.Ìý
House moves forward on bills that attack 'policing for profit' schemes.
Caldwell County judge continues to threaten jail time for defendants who can't afford jail board bills.Ìý
As House moves debtors' prison bill, Charlie Weiss suggests they go a step further.Ìý
Post-Dispatch columnist Tony Messenger has reported extensively on the topic.
In the case of Vance Cole, two judges have ruled he is being held behind bars illegally. His fate is in hands of Attorney General Eric Schmitt.Ìý
Failure to pay jail bills "cannot result in another incarceration," the court said.
State lawmaker now intends to take the next step and make it illegal to charge defendants for a stay in the county jail.Ìý
Head public defender says Caldwell County judge fails to follow Missouri Supreme Court ruling in jail board bill cases.
One jail board bill gets wiped away in issue of 'justice and fairness'. Another one does not.Ìý
Public defender asks Missouri Supreme Court to stop Caldwell County judge from repeatedly punishing defendants over their failure to pay.
Messenger found defendants across the state who had fulfilled their sentences and served out their paroles only to be saddled with thousands of dollars in "board bills" for the time they spent in jail.
Study from Vera Institute of Justice shows Missouri leads nation in decline of rate of prison population.Ìý
Andrew County judge changes name of payment review hearings. He now calls them debt collection review hearings.Ìý
Lawsuits filed seeking return of fees that aren't authorized by statute.
The practice, which persisted in some local courts, was the subject of columns by Post-Dispatch columnist Tony Messenger.
Gov. Mike Parson signs multiple bills that should reduce populations in county jails and state prisons.Ìý
As Johnson & Johnson profits rise, victims of opioid crisis face rising court debts.
When a city or county charges an illegal court fee, should defendants get their money back?
Texas Public Policy Foundation weighs in on cash bail lawsuit in St. Louis.
Study of three states recommends lawmakers stop using court fines and fees to fund government services.
Missouri Supreme Court's new rules are working, and the bail industry doesn't like that.
George Richey files civil lawsuit alleging illegal and unconstitutional scheme to jail people simply because they're poor.
Spat with husband leads toÌý six months in jail on a misdemeanor peace disturbance.
Legislation would reclassify jail board bills as court costs.Ìý
Messenger’s reporting shook the halls of power in Jefferson City, prompting legislation to do away with jail time for failure to pay jail debt.
Her opinion in excessive fines case should have a massive effect on state laws in coming years.Ìý
One case is in urban St. Louis County, the other in rural St. Francois County. Both identify the same problem, a degradation of civil rights.Ìý
Kid-glove treatment of insurrection defendants highlights dichotomy of criminal justice system.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker signs sweeping Illinois criminal justice overhaul including eliminating cash bail
Illinois becomes first state to abolish cash bail.
Man whose name is on key Missouri debtors prison case seeks further protections against the criminalization of poverty.
The state's prison population is down nearly 10,000 in three years.Ìý
Case over $3 fee to pay for sheriff's retirement fund is unconstitutional, attorney argues.Ìý
Rush Limbaugh wouldn’t like what’s happening in the Missouri Senate.
Messenger: Another state court unanimously agrees with Missouri: Close debtors prisonsIdaho Supreme Court ruling bans arrest warrants for people who fall behind paying court fines and fees.Ìý
Writ alleges Saline County judge discriminated against defendant because of pregnancy.
A loose dog, an ordinance violation and fines she couldn't afford led to jail time for an Iron County, Missouri, woman. Then a local lawyer spoke up for her.Ìý
Maplewood's payout of $3.5 million is the latest settlement over court costs. And the Department of Justice says court fines and fees are a national problem.Ìý
While being held in jail for "safe keeping," jailers searched her purse and allegedly found drugs. Public defender seeks to suppress evidence and alleges multiple violations of civil rights.
Another settlement signals an end to the use of municipal courts as "money-grabbers."
Effort mirrors progress made in Missouri courts, where one $3 fee was declared unconstitutional, and others are not being targeted.
Crusading attorney seeks change in Missouri so every defendant has an attorney at first hearing.Ìý