10-28-2019, 09:01 AM
Why are Pennsylvania judges sentencing people on probation for debts they wonâ€t ever be able to pay?
A decade after he was first sentenced in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court, Maurice Hudson still could not come up with $1,941 in outstanding court costs — and, at a February hearing, it was clear Judge Genece Brinkley was out of patience.
“Each time, he has come back here with excuses,†Brinkley said of Hudson, who at 19 was convicted of a robbery and sentenced to two to four years in prison.
“Iâ€m struggling out there on the streets,†Hudson, now 29, told her. He had come home on probation, gotten married, and become a stay-at-home father of two young girls with special needs. He earned only $150 a week as a part-time janitor. “I keep hearing it every time I come in front of you, ‘Iâ€m not trying.†How is it Iâ€m not trying?â€
To Brinkley, there was only one way to teach Hudson: an additional 1½-to-3-year sentence in state prison. She said it was “absolutely necessary to vindicate the authority of the court.â€
Appeals courts have ruled people cannot be incarcerated for nonpayment without a determination that they are actually able to pay. Yet, in Hudsonâ€s case, said Cheryl Brooks, a Philadelphia public defender, “he was essentially jailed for his poverty.â€
Hudsonâ€s case illustrates a reality for hundreds of people on probation or parole across Pennsylvania: Failure to keep up with court-ordered payments remains a common reason for judges to revoke supervision and impose more probation, more parole, or even more incarceration, keeping people under court control for years on end.
more:
https://www.inquirer.com/news/philadelph...91010.html
A decade after he was first sentenced in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court, Maurice Hudson still could not come up with $1,941 in outstanding court costs — and, at a February hearing, it was clear Judge Genece Brinkley was out of patience.
“Each time, he has come back here with excuses,†Brinkley said of Hudson, who at 19 was convicted of a robbery and sentenced to two to four years in prison.
“Iâ€m struggling out there on the streets,†Hudson, now 29, told her. He had come home on probation, gotten married, and become a stay-at-home father of two young girls with special needs. He earned only $150 a week as a part-time janitor. “I keep hearing it every time I come in front of you, ‘Iâ€m not trying.†How is it Iâ€m not trying?â€
To Brinkley, there was only one way to teach Hudson: an additional 1½-to-3-year sentence in state prison. She said it was “absolutely necessary to vindicate the authority of the court.â€
Appeals courts have ruled people cannot be incarcerated for nonpayment without a determination that they are actually able to pay. Yet, in Hudsonâ€s case, said Cheryl Brooks, a Philadelphia public defender, “he was essentially jailed for his poverty.â€
Hudsonâ€s case illustrates a reality for hundreds of people on probation or parole across Pennsylvania: Failure to keep up with court-ordered payments remains a common reason for judges to revoke supervision and impose more probation, more parole, or even more incarceration, keeping people under court control for years on end.
more:
https://www.inquirer.com/news/philadelph...91010.html
