Should Inmates Pay for Prison Time?

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The idea and debate is one whether or not to make inmate pay in more then just with their time, but to be charged for housing, feeding, and seeing the doctor. Recently brought on to the table is the idea that inmate should be charged a certain amount for the room, food, doctor, and yes even there toilet paper.

“Madoff” bill would charge rich NY inmates for jail (an article from June 20, 2009) tells us that a bill up for debate would charge New York inmates for their cost to stay in prison, a cost which is about $80 to $90 a day. For those who have the assets to pay the bill would be charged from there would be charged on a sliding scale where inmates with less the $40,000 or less net worth wouldn’t pay anything.

In this articles, the statement is made that “Far too often, taxpayers are stuck with the bill for criminals who have extensive personal wealth waiting for them once they are discharged from our state’s penal system,” Republican Assemblyman Jim Tedisco said in a statement. Tedisco, in this above article, states that this would not be to punish the convicts family.

A recent article, Do the Crime, Pay the Time, as in $90 a day, found on ABC news, doesn’t state any of the above information, but instead point towards a different point of view by stating that this is in light of the economic crisis that we are facing. They state that inmates in Arizona’s Maricopa County will be paying $1.25 for the meals and Iowa’s Des Moines County might be charging inmate for toilet paper, as well as listing several other places who are or are considering charging inmates. Yet, unlike Tedisco comments, this articles states that families, who contribute to the inmates accounts would be paying for the bill instead, which would mean out of their own pocket instead of through their taxes.

There are many people standing on both sides of the issue. On one side, you have people who believe that wealthy people, who will be returning to a rich lifestyle, should shoulder the bill for the time they will be spending in prison. On the other side, you have people who believe that this is just due to the economic state of the country right now and it will just harm poor inmates and their families.