In March 2022, 58-year-old Teresa Beatty became the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit challenging Connecticut's prison "pay-to-stay" law. As in, formerly incarcerated people get charged $249 per day of their incarceration … pricier than a fancy hotel.
Beatty's final bill after two and a half years for drug possession in 2000? $83,762!
Politicians say these policies exist because taxpayers shouldn't be paying for other people's prison time. But why must ANY civilian pay for a system rooted in anti-Blackness that doesn't effectively keep us safe? And where does the money go?
This doesn't just punish incarcerated people - it punishes families. In Beatty's case, she may have to sell her home and live unhoused with her disabled brother, two adult children, and their children.
Still, most states have these laws. Even Connecticut, which revised its law so that 98% of incarcerated people don't have to pay, still collects debts established before the law changed. The state has even collected lawsuit money from incarcerated people abused by prison guards.
But it isn’t a money-grab, right?
The criminal legal system was never designed to benefit Black people - and especially not low-income Black people.
"I feel like no hope," said Beatty. "Where do I go? All of this work and it feels like I've done it in vain."