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: Legal Blog Watch

Prisoners Cannot Be Charged Board, Court Says

By Robert J. Ambrogi

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Five dollars a night would be a steal at any other place of lodging, but the patrons of the county jail in Dartmouth, Mass., had certainly not shopped around for their overnight accommodations. Going to jail was punishment enough, at least they could expect three squares and a place to sleep. But for the sheriff who runs the jail, it was all about teaching prisoners financial responsibility. In 2002, he launched his Inmate Financial Responsibility Program, charging prisoners $5 a day as a "cost of care" fee, along with other fees for additional services. These other fees included $5 for medical appointments, $3 for prescriptions, $5 for eyeglasses, $5 for haircuts, and $12.50 to take the GED exam. Over the years, the sheriff collected some $750,000 from prisoners. Now, he will have to pay them back, after the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled yesterday that he had no authority to impose the fees. In Souza v. Sheriff of Bristol County, the SJC rejected the sheriff's argument that common law traditions dating back to the early days of English history gave him this power. The SJC said that only the legislature could decide to impose such fees on prisoners. "Had the...

Full post as published by Legal Blog Watch on January 06, 2010 (boomark / email).