State of Illinois Sues Inmates for Prison Costs After Release

Inmates held by the Illinois Department of Corrections are being sued by the state to cover the costs of their incarcerations after being released.

According to the Chicago Tribune, the practice isn’t anything new, as Illinois regularly files lawsuits against sex offenders, murderers and other prisoners already serving lengthy sentences for their crimes. Yet inmates whose crimes and convictions aren’t nearly as serious are being targeted too. Especially those, “who have earned or come into relatively modest sums of money, whether through an inheritance, a trust fund or” other publicly-known means.

One inmate won $50,000 from the state after the department failed to provide adequate treatment for his cancer. Upon his release, Illinois sued him for $175,000 despite a prior legal agreement that barred the department from trying to win back its financial losses.

“The Legislature should revisit whether this law is appropriate,” said Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan. “These recoveries may raise roadblocks to former inmates trying to lead successful lives out of prison. As a result, the judgments that must be made in attempting to recover incarceration costs raise moral questions that legislators need to address.”

The Tribune notes that 43 states include laws or legal precedents that allow them to acquire money from inmates as a means of lessening the financial burden placed on taxpayers. Illinois’ particular law has been on the books since 1982, though as the paper points out, the frequency with which former prisoners are being sued has increased dramatically. Only two lawsuits were filed in 2012 and 2013 each, whereas 11 went through the courts during the first 10 months of 2015.

“The problem with all of this is that we’re supporting the justice system by charging the poorest members of our society. That’s just not a cost-efficient way — and a lot of people would argue it’s not a moral way — to operate a system,” said Lauren-Brooke Eisen at New York University’s Brennan Center for Justice. “How much is it costing to do this? There are clerks and lawyers and judges involved in all this. It doesn’t seem cost-efficient.”

Since 2010, Illinois has recovered $512,219 via 11 cases. $415,590, or 81 percent, came from only two of these.

[h/t Chicago Tribune]
[Image via Shutterstock.com]

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