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Wadena jail to start charging inmates $20 per day

Associated Press


WADENA, Minn. - Starting next year, inmates at the Wadena County Jail will be charged $20 for every day they're housed in the jail. They'll also be responsible for any medical expenses they incur.

Wadena County Sheriff Mike Carr says the goal is to deter people who periodically land themselves in jail so they can take advantage of free services.

He says there are some people who never go to a doctor or dentist, but as soon as they get to jail they get a toothache.

The jail program is called "Pay to Stay." It starts in January. It will rely on a collection agency to bill the inmates.

Carr says the message is, if you "can't pay for the time, don't do the crime."

Wadena is in central Minnesota, about 50 miles east of Fergus Falls.

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BONNIE

that is interesting I THINK many county jails are
doing the same thing

dgrimm60

I do not expect the courts to uphold that rule. That is all well and good for people who go to jail to get free services. But there will always be those who do not or who cannot ever afford to pay. What do you do if they do not pay. Send them to jail. There is a reason why they go to jail to get those services. They cannot afford basic care. Billing them for it is a waste of postage. I doubt they will collect much if anything.

The state or federal government is pretty good at collecting.
I would expect that they would garnish wages. Even if only small amounts per month.
Personally I think they should do that within reason to all on the government dole. For those that are physically and mentally impaired they need help.
If they are not impaired they should be given a time limit for temporary help.After that they should expect to repay,even if it is 5.00 a month

I wonder, too, if that will hold up in court. It's a good idea, though how do you determine whether or not someone did something to get into jail for purely beneficial reasons, i.e., to get medical/dental service for free? And like CyberGuy said, what do you do if the person cannot afford to pay the basic $20/day charge?

I have heard other states have done same. I don't think the intent is free medical services so they make sure they go to jail.
Anyone being put in jail pays for "their" services.If they decide on some medical or dental after being placed they will pay.

HEY ALL

I NOW THAT there are counties in TENNESSEE that
are doing this....i am not sure how much they
are charging????

dgrimm60

Seems like this should then be national and not just State or County mandated. An interesting concept that *must* be working if various States/Counties are doing it with no problems being encountered.

This is probably a dead topic, but I thought that I'd put my 2¢ in in case someone is reading...

I work at a jail in Washington state and the way that we do it when an inmate owes us for medical treatment, we deduct it from any deposits made to their account. The inmate is allowed to deposit money with us so that they can purchase stuff off of commissary which makes us a lot of money. However, if they owe us money, we take a percentage of any deposits. This debt rolls over to each subsequent stay until it is paid off.

Tom

Now that is criminal in itself! They should put everyone in prison who voted for such a thing--and keep them there! This country is going to heck in a handbasket very fast!