ALABAMA – Harriet Cleveland remembers the strained faces of the people waiting to make payments on the fines and court costs they owed the city of Montgomery, Alabama, for infractions such as unpaid traffic tickets, according to a story published by the Southern Poverty Law Center.
But what the 50-year-old grandmother didn’t grasp at first was that they weren’t paying the city. Instead, they were paying Judicial Correction Services (JCS), a for-profit company that was overseeing the probation of people in her situation.
“I sat and watched a lot of people come out there, and a lot of money came out of their hands that I know they didn’t really have to give,” Cleveland said. “I’d see $200 or $300 come out of this young man’s pocket.”
Cleveland’s $140 monthly payment – $40 of which went to JCS for its fees – was a terrifying burden. She lost her day care job during the recession and was barely scraping by. She paid what she could, even when it meant her money was only going toward the company’s fees. One time she handed over $140 that went directly to JCS.
Finally, Cleveland didn’t have any more money to give. She received a notice in the mail: Pay $2,714 or go to jail. Not long after, a police officer arrived and arrested her while she was babysitting her grandson. A judge sentenced her to 31 days in jail because she was too poor to pay.
Cleveland spent 10 days in jail before SPLC lawyers got her released. The SPLC then filed suit on her behalf, alleging the Montgomery Municipal Court’s practices were unconstitutional. The SPLC and Equal Justice Under Law, a civil rights organization, announced a settlement agreement today with the city of Montgomery that will help Cleveland and change the city’s practices so that no one else will suffer her fate again. The agreement is pending final approval by the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama Northern Division.
Full Story: Southern Poverty Law Center