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Should we force offenders to pay for the costs of their punishments?

By Douglas A. Berman

This local article, headlined "N.J. lawmakers want inmates to pay jail, monitoring costs," prompts the question in this title of this post.  Here are some excerpts: Some New Jersey lawmakers want convicted criminals to pay for their confinement or electronic monitoring. Two bills would pass the costs of state jails onto inmates and the expense of electronic monitoring devices onto sex offenders required to wear them. A plan from State Sen. James Beach (D., Camden) would charge state prisoners for the cost of their incarceration, an average of $38,700 per year.  Beach said he had gotten the idea from within his district, where the Camden County Correctional Facility assesses a user fee of $5 per day for room and board and $10 per day for use of the infirmary...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on May 14, 2009 (boomark / email).