As the subject of criminal justice reform entered the democratic debate last week, the financial burden placed on prisoners that often traps them in a cycle of the system has been a heavy topic.

Many that are not familiar with the prison system do not realize that it is legal for every state to charge prisoners for their incarceration, racking up unpayable fees during many lengthy stays with no real way to earn income.

The pay-to-stay policy does not allow prisoners to acquire much, if any, money without handing it over to the institution for their care. This causes prisoners to fall into debt or simply acquire no money while they are in prison.

Many incarcerated people (around 50%) have children that they must pay child support for. There is paperwork that can be filed to avoid extra fees and build-up of debt while imprisoned, but many do not know of/have access to these papers, leading to another financial burden of their imprisonment which the failure to pay upon release will either result in more fees, return to prison, or both.

When prisoners are released but charged with fees for their stay, court costs, meetings with probation officers, etc. and are unable to pay the fees, they are at risk of being sent back to prison due to their inability to pay..which will only cause them to acquire more charges and fees in the process.

Even once put on parole, people that are forced to be electronically monitored are placed with a huge financial burden of a steep set up fee for their ankle bracelets, followed by daily or monthly fees that they often cannot afford to pay because they lost their jobs due to imprisonment (), made extremely minimal wages working in prison and can’t find work because they have a criminal record.

Even if ex-prisoners are lucky enough to find a job, these ankle bracelets can end up costing the majority of their monthly income, still leaving them unable to afford all other aspects of their lives.

While incurring all of these costs, homelessness often becomes an issue for the previously incarcerated because if they cannot afford to pay prison fees, how can they afford a place to live? Especially with the cost of housing in our country today.

Since the previously incarcerated can’t meet their basic needs of survival including housing, food, and clothing, some result in committing crimes in order to meet these needs, which ultimately leads them back to prison simply due to their lack of money.