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$3.25 Million Settlement Reached With Defendants Jailed in Missouri “Debtor’s Prison” for Unpaid Fines, Fees
Loaded on Oct. 15, 2023
by Matthew Clarke
published in Prison Legal News
October, 2023, page 59
Filed under:
Settlements,
Indigent Defendants - Fees and Expenses,
Ability to Pay,
Inmate Financial Responsibility Program (IFRP).
Location:
Missouri.
by Matthew Clarke
On April 5, 2023, the federal court for the Eastern District of Missouri gave final approval to a $3.25 million settlement in a class-action lawsuit alleging the City of Maplewood improperly jailed defendants in a modern-day debtor’s prison simply because they were unable to pay …
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More from this issue:
- Breaking the Cycle of Understaffing, Lockdowns and Increased Violence in Prisons, by David Reutter
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- Wexford Faces Liability for Indiana Prisoner’s Delayed Specialist Referral, by David Reutter
- After Ninth Circuit Refuses to Compel Arbitration, National Class Certified in HRDC’s Challenge to Jail and Prison Debit Card Fees, by Mark Wilson
- Convicted Sex Offender Now a Licensed Attorney in Washington State
- $110,000 Paid By Tennessee Jail to Women Allegedly Forced to Stage “Sex Shows” for Guard
- Unable to Post Bail, Detainee Starves to Death in Arkansas Jail, by David Reutter
- $1 Million Settlement for California Prisoners Used to Bait Guard Charged with Sexual Misconduct
- $30,000 Paid by Pennsylvania to Prisoner Who Alleged Guards Beat and Tortured Him, by Douglas Ankney
- Seventh Circuit Revives Illinois Prisoner’s Claim Over Knee Surgery Delayed 29 Months, by Mark Wilson
- Louisiana Prison Guard Helps Pregnant Prisoner and Learns That No Good Deed Goes Unpunished
- Number Held in U.S. Prisons and Jails Dipped in Pandemic’s Second Year, by Douglas Ankney
- 46 Honduran Prisoners Massacred in Their Cells
- $1.25 Million Settlement for California Jail Prisoner’s Loss of Limbs, by David Reutter
- Fourth Circuit Reinstates North Carolina Prisoner’s Suit, Finding Grievance Procedure Availability an Open Question, by Mark Wilson
- COVID-19 Increased Racial Disparities in Prisons and Jails
- Court Orders Preliminary Injunctive Relief for Transgender Massachusetts Prisoners, by Douglas Ankney
- Guantanamo Bay Detainees Subjected to Forced Rectal Feeding and Hydration, by Eike Blohm, MD
- Wrongly Imprisoned for Killing Oregon Prison Director, Frank Gable Finally Fully Freed
- Naphcare’s Lack of Care Leads to $26.75 Million Verdict for Washington Jail Death
- $2,060,000 Awarded to Former New York Prisoner Left Quadriplegic After Assault by Guards, by Douglas Ankney
- Ex-felons on Parole and Probation Now Allowed to Vote in Minnesota
- How Corporations Turned Prison Tablets Into a Predatory Scheme, by Tommaso Bardelli, Ruqaiyah Zarook, Derick McCarthy
- The Almost Unknown Turkey Bowl and Black Sheep, by Douglas Ankney
- Report Finds Prison a Factor in Falling U.S. Life Expectancy
- Third Prisoner Dies in 2023 at California’s New Folsom Prison
- Virginia Prisoner Wins Habeas Release on Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Claim, by Douglas Ankney
- Settlement Reached Over COVID-19 Measures, Home Confinement Releases at FCC Lompoc
- New York Jailhouse Lawyer Wins Resentencing, Release, by Benjamin Tschirhart
- CoreCivic Fails to Defeat California’s Anti-SLAPP Law at Ninth Circuit, Must Pay $45,630 in Attorney Fees
- Colorado One of Four States Making Phone Calls Free for Prisoners
- Sixth Circuit Revives Blind Tennessee Prisoner’s Suit Against DOC and CoreCivic
- $1.85 Million Approved for Tampa Man Wrongfully Imprisoned for 37 Years
- Suit Against Pennsylvania Jail and Controversial Trainer Down to Just Two Plaintiffs
- Almost $1.1 Million Awarded to One-Legged Pretrial Detainee Forced to Hop to California Jail Cell, by David Reutter
- Florida Solitary Confinement Lawsuit Dismissed, by David Reutter
- Former BOP Guard Gets Light Sentence for COVID-19 Fraud, by Douglas Ankney
- Academics Find Prisoners Denied Access to Public Information, by Matthew Clarke
- Citing Improvements at Mississippi State Prison at Parchman, Rappers Drop Suit, by Douglas Ankney
- Settlement Includes $78,000 in Damages Against Minnesota DOC for ADA Violations
- 400 Prisoners Relocated After Fire at Texas State Penitentiary
- Texas Death Row Prisoners Challenge Blanket Policy of Automatic Solitary Confinement, by Douglas Ankney
- Colorado Lawmakers Shut Down Sheriff’s Participation in ICE 287(g) Program
- JPay Denied Motion to Compel Arbitration in Suit Over Debit Release Cards
- Prisoner Health Update: Hemorrhoids, by Eike Blohm, MD
- Despite Prior Settlement Agreement, Sick Michigan Prisoners Still Forced to Wait for Medication in Cold and Rain, by Douglas Ankney
- Nearly 5,000 Sexual Victimizations Counted in Three Years in U.S. Prisons and Jails, by Douglas Ankney
- $3.25 Million Settlement Reached With Defendants Jailed in Missouri “Debtor’s Prison” for Unpaid Fines, Fees, by Matthew Clarke
- $2.125 Million Paid So Far for Virginia Prisoner’s Death from Treatable Aneurism, by Matthew Clarke
- San Francisco Jail First in Nation to Provide Detainees Tablets With Totally Free Content
- Utah Prisoner Blows Whistle on Abuse of Federal Grants, Leading to $1.55 Million Settlement – And New Law Restricting Prisoner Records Requests
- News in Brief
More from Matthew Clarke:
- CoreCivic’s Long Record of Abuse and Neglect in Tennessee, June 1, 2026
- Federal Court Grants HRDC Preliminary Injunction Against Mail Censorship at New Mexico Jail, May 1, 2026
- Faced with Record-Breaking Jail Deaths, L.A. County Supervisors Tell Sheriff’s Department to Improve Access to Naloxone, Camera Monitoring, and Security Checks at California Jail, May 1, 2026
- Federal Court Places Medical Care in Arizona Prisons Under Receivership, May 1, 2026
- Seventh Circuit Upholds Liability but Reverses Damages in Lawsuit Over Illinois Warden and Investigator Using Prisoner as Bait to Catch Staff Member Raping Her, May 1, 2026
- Texas Moves to Restrict Cashless Bond and Reverse Federal Court-Ordered Misdemeanor Bail Reform, May 1, 2026
- In Texas, Harris County Commissioners Approve $1.2 Million for Fourth Study of Jail Since 2020 After Dozens of Abuse Allegations, April 1, 2026
- Texas Attorney General Clarifies Scope of Statute Requiring Outside Agency Investigation of Jail Deaths, April 1, 2026
- D.C. Judge Blocks Transfer of Biden-Commuted Federal Death Row Prisoners to “Supermax,” Citing Lack of Meaningful Due Process, April 1, 2026
- Eighth Circuit Revives Lawsuit Over Iowa Jail Detainee’s Suicide, April 1, 2026
More from these topics:
- ACLU Threatens New Lawsuit After Indiana County’s Repeated Failures to Abide by 17-Year-Old Settlement Agreement, May 1, 2026. Overcrowding, Exercise, Sanitation, Bedding, Settlements.
- Massachusetts Settles Lawsuit with Promise to Release Jail Voting Data, April 1, 2026. Voting, Advocacy, Settlements, Voting Rights, Felon Disenfranchisement Statute.
- Virginia Jail Suicide Results in $950,000 Settlement, Claims Against Wellpath still Pending, April 1, 2026. Private Contractors, Medical Records, Settlements, Failure to Protect (Wrongful Death), Suicides.
- $300,000 Class-Action Settlement at California Jail Includes Policy Changes; Agreements with Aramark and Wellpath Reached Confidentially, March 1, 2026. Food, Sanitation, Settlements, Class Certification, Monell Liability.
- South Dakota Sobriety Program Participants Will No Longer Be Jailed for Non-Payment of Fees, March 1, 2026. Settlements, Class Certification, Fourteenth Amendment, rights, Unlawful Detention, Ability to Pay.
- California Supreme Court Announces Excessive Fines Clauses Are the Proper Method to Challenge Punitive Fines, Holds Equal Protection Requires Courts to Consider Defendant’s Inability to Pay Before Imposing Certain Ancillary Assessments Upon Request, Feb. 1, 2026. Constitution, U.S., Constitution, state, Equal Protection Clause/Claims, Fines, Ability to Pay.
- Report on “Pay-to-Stay” Fees Makes Strong Case for Their Repeal, Jan. 1, 2026. Racial Discrimination, Medical Expenses, Cost of Prison Systems, housing, Ability to Pay.
- $4,652 for Jewish Nevada Prisoner Denied Passover Meal, Jan. 1, 2026. Religious Discrimination, Food, Settlements, First Amendment, rights, Dismissal.
- HRDC Sues New Mexico County for Violating 10-Year-Old Settlement of Censorship Suit, Jan. 1, 2026. Settlements, Publications/Books, Due Process, Censorship, First Amendment.
- $4 Million Settlement Reached in Class Action Challenge to Conditions at Shuttered St. Louis “Workhouse” Jail, Dec. 1, 2025. Totality of Conditions, Jail Specific, Settlements, Class Certification.

