Critics say the Kansas criminal justice system’s fees and fines trap people in a cycle of poverty
After Tyler Williams spent much of his teenage years locked up in the juvenile jail system, he found himself at 19 owing more than $1,000 to the state of Kansas — including an $840 fee for hauling him from Oklahoma to face charges in Junction City. Working a minimum wage job, it took Williams two years of his young adulthood to wipe out all the fees and fines from his crimes as a kid. “It was a sigh of relief,” he said. “Having that burden gone definitely helped me get into a better mindset and take control of my life.” Fines and fees are commonly used to punish offenders and fund the court system, but critics argue they mostly make it harder for people to get their lives on track. That’s fueled a push to make the courts less reliant on ringing up revenue from people convicted of crimes. Advocates for tossing aside many of those fees and fines say lawmakers should consider dumping them if they want people to escape from cycles of poverty and crime that tend to land people back in jail.
Source: KCUR News
