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Debtors' Prisons

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What's at Stake

Nearly two centuries ago, the United States formally abolished the incarceration of people who failed to pay off debts. Yet, recent years have witnessed the rise of modern-day debtors' prisons—the arrest and jailing of poor people for failure to pay legal debts they can never hope to afford, through criminal justice procedures that violate their most basic rights.

The ACLU and ACLU affiliates across the country have been exposing and challenging modern-day debtors' prisons across the country.  Learn More

Nearly two centuries ago, the United States formally abolished the incarceration of people who failed to pay off debts. Yet, recent years have witnessed the rise of modern-day debtors' prisons—the arrest and jailing of poor people for failure to pay legal debts they can never hope to afford, through criminal justice procedures that violate their most basic rights.

The ACLU and ACLU affiliates across the country have been exposing and challenging modern-day debtors' prisons across the country.  Learn More
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Credit: Michelle Frankfurter, Jacquelyn Martin / AP Photos
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