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Norse-Gael-Heathen t1_it02toz wrote

Yeah, I hate echo-chamber cheerleading...so I'm going to say NO on #2.

Criminal sanctions restrict the rights of the perpetrator (such as jail), but do dick-squat in terms of compensating the victim for their damages. That has to be obtained from a civil case.

So someone assaulted you, and put out your eye, so you sue them in civil court and win $1 million. Oh, but wait - they have no assets, so you get didley squat. Until you sue them to recover, but oops, they've been thrown in jail on the criminal charges - which, once again, does nothing for the victim.

If the prisoner can be pressed into service, with their income being garnished and sent to the victim - I'm all for it. Call it 'slavery' if you want - I call it restitution.

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Corey307 t1_it0etvd wrote

The US does not have a debtors prison system, your example does not work. People don’t get sent to prison because they can’t pay a judgment assuming they haven’t committed fraud or other financial crimes to avoid paying a settlement.

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Master__Midnight t1_it0dmkd wrote

I'm not a lawyer, but I know how to use Google, and I don't think you can be sent to jail from civil lawsuits or debt.

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Norse-Gael-Heathen t1_it0et4m wrote

Well, for child support, you clearly do. If you fail to appear for a hearing based on failure to pay a judgement, you are jailed for that and the bail is usually set for the amount of the judgement.

But the point is that if a person is jailed for the criminal charge (say, assault), and has no assets to pay the civil damages in the parallel case, then they should be working off their civil debt while incarcerated.

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Master__Midnight t1_it0itam wrote

Fair point. I'd be ok if prison work paid prevailing wages + overtime instead of $0.40/hour, which would be more money for your civil damages, and remove the incentive to create and exploit prison labor.

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