Unpaid Court Fees Land The Poor In 21st Century Debtors' Prisons

NPR | By Joseph Shapiro

Published May 20, 2014 at 6:12 AM EDT

Debtors' prisons were outlawed in the United States back before the Civil War. But an NPR state-by-state survey found that people still get sent to jail for unpaid court fines and fees.

Joseph Shapiro

Joseph Shapiro is a NPR News Investigations correspondent.

See stories by Joseph Shapiro

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Unpaid Court Fees Land The Poor In 21st Century Debtors' Prisons

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