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A debtors' prison is a prison for those who are unable to pay a debt.
Prior to the mid 19th century debtors' prisons were a common way to deal with unpaid debt.[1] Currently, the practice of giving prison sentences for unpaid debts is still found only in a few countries, including Greece and the UAE.
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Main Criticism
The debtors' prison's major conceptual flaw is that to many people, indebtedness alone is not immoral or culpable enough to justify imprisonment (as compared to violent crimes, for example), especially considering that lending money always involves the creditor consenting to a risk of default. Indeed according to this view, imprisoning debtors is itself immoral. Another criticism is that by putting indebted people in prison, society prevents them from contributing their labor and thus make it harder for them to pay it off and thus makes it harder for creditors to recoup their investment.
By region
Medieval Europe
During Europe's Middle Ages, debtors, both men and women, were locked up together in a single large cell, until their families paid their debt.[2] Debt prisoners often died of disease contracted from other debt prisoners. Conditions included starvation and abuse from other prisoners. If the father of a family was imprisoned for debt, the family business often suffered while the mother and children fell into poverty. Unable to pay the debt, the father often remained in debt prison for many years. Some debt prisoners were released to become serfs or indentured servants (debt bondage) until they paid off their debt in labor.
United Kingdom
In the United Kingdom, debtors' prisons varied in the amount of freedom they allowed the debtor. With a little money, a debtor could pay for some freedoms; some allowed inmates to conduct business and receive visitors; others (for example, the Fleet and King's Bench Prisons) even allowed inmates to live a short distance outside the prison — a practice known as the 'Liberty of the Rules' — and the Fleet even tolerated clandestine 'Fleet Marriages'.
Some debtors prisoners were less fortunate, being sent to prisons with a mix of criminals. Petty criminals, debtors, vicious criminals, convicts and many more were confined into a single cell.
The father of the English author Charles Dickens was sent to one of these prisons (Marshalsea Prison), which were often described in Dickens' novels.
The Debtors Act 1869 abolished imprisonment for debt, although debtors who had the means to pay their debt, but did not do so, could still be incarcerated for up to six weeks.
Notable UK debtors' prisons
- Coldbath Fields Prison, London
- Fleet Prison, London
- Giltspur Street Compter, London
- King's Bench Prison, London
- Marshalsea Prison, London
- Poultry Compter, London
- Wood Street Counter, London
United States
In 1833 the United States reduced the practice of imprisonment for debts at the federal level.[clarification needed] Most states followed suit. It is still possible, however, to be incarcerated for debt, but only in those circumstances in which the court finds that the debtor actually possesses the money or means available to pay the debt. The constitutions of the U.S. states of Tennessee and Oklahoma forbid civil imprisonment for debts.[3]
Notable Previous U.S. debtors' prisons
- Debtors' Prison (Accomac, Virginia)
- Debtors' Prison (Worsham, Virginia)
- Debtors' Prison (Tappahannock, Virginia)
Greece
Ιmprisonment for debts, whether to the tax office or to private banks, was still practiced until January 2008, when the law changed after imprisonment for unpaid taxes or other debts to the government or to the social security office was declared unconstitutional after being practised for 173 years, but still retained imprisonment for debts to private banks.[clarification needed] However, the situation regarding imprisonment (προσωποκράτηση) for debts to the government is still unclear, as courts continue to have this ability for criminal acts.[4]
Dubai
Debtors in Dubai can be imprisoned for failing to pay their debts.[5]
See also
- Debt bondage
- Poor Law
- Poorhouse
- Sponging-house
- Bankruptcy
- The Province of Georgia in the colonial United States, was originally intended to be settled by debtors.
Notes
- ^ Cory, Lucinda. "A Historical Perspective on Bankruptcy", On the Docket, Volume 2, Issue 2, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Rhode Island, April/May/June 2000, retrieved December 20, 2007.
- ^ http://www.articlesdepo.com/loans/56618.php
- ^ Oklahoma State Constitution 2 § 13
- ^ http://www.reporto.gr/news.asp?ID=7710
- ^ http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/12/world/middleeast/12dubai.html
External links
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