Post by ck4829 on May 20, 2016 20:12:58 GMT
If you are arrested for a serious crime, you're supposed to be taken to jail and booked. Then there's some sort of hearing, and if the judge doesn't think you will skip town or commit more crimes, you are either released on your own recognizance, or you post bail, and you are free until a pre-trial hearing. After that, you either go to trial, or plead guilty and accept punishment.
But for a great many people, this is not how it works. As a new report from the Prison Policy Initiative demonstrates, over one-third of people who go through the booking process end up staying in jail simply because they can't raise enough cash to post bail. For millions of Americans in 2016, poverty is effectively a crime.
theweek.com/articles/624339/grotesque-criminalization-poverty-america
This, of course, could be considered an example of a 'cudgel'. An accusation of criminality can hurt just as much as being unemployed or a medical emergency.
But for a great many people, this is not how it works. As a new report from the Prison Policy Initiative demonstrates, over one-third of people who go through the booking process end up staying in jail simply because they can't raise enough cash to post bail. For millions of Americans in 2016, poverty is effectively a crime.
theweek.com/articles/624339/grotesque-criminalization-poverty-america
This, of course, could be considered an example of a 'cudgel'. An accusation of criminality can hurt just as much as being unemployed or a medical emergency.