Why some states are eliminating court costs for poor offenders

+ how to feed 10 billion people US Edition - Today's top story: Certain states, including Arizona, have begun scrapping court costs and fees for people unable to pay – two experts on legal punishments explain why [View in browser]( US Edition | 4 December 2023 [The Conversation] [The Conversation]( Top headlines - [If New England’s stone walls could talk]( - [Inside the effort to bankrupt Planned Parenthood in the Texas]( - [How Philly plugged up the school-to-prison pipeline]( Lead story In her 2016 book, “A Pound of Flesh: Monetary Sanctions for the Poor,” University of Washington sociologist Alexes Harris talked to a woman who was a victim of domestic violence and had spent eight years in prison after being convicted for shooting the father of her son. She was assessed $33,000 in court fees and fines. But 13 years after the woman’s conviction, despite making minimum monthly payments, her debt ballooned to $72,000 due to interest. Even after serving time and fulfilling additional requirements of probation and community service, adult and juvenile offenders alike often find themselves in further legal jeopardy because of their inability to pay a slew of court costs and fees. More troubling, these types of financial sanctions do not improve public safety, nor do they deter crime. In their study of fines and fees in eight states, Harris and University of Miami sociologist Alex Piquero found that [the consequences of unpaid legal debts are more burdensome to people of color and those who are poor](. As Harris and Piquero explain, “… monetary sanctions do far more harm than good and inflict disproportionate hardship on those least able to pay them.” [ [Understand what’s going on in Washington and around the world. Get our Politics Weekly newsletter.]( ] Howard Manly Race + Equity Editor Several U.S. states are eliminating criminal fines and fees for people who can’t afford them. Getty Images [Certain states, including Arizona, have begun scrapping court costs and fees for people unable to pay – two experts on legal punishments explain why]( Alexes Harris, University of Washington; Alex R. Piquero, University of Miami The imposition of fines and fees on people unable to pay has had a disproportionate impact on Black and Latino communities. Environment + Energy - [COP28: 7 food and agriculture innovations needed to protect the climate and feed a rapidly growing world]( Paul Winters, University of Notre Dame Food systems are increasingly disrupted by climate disasters, while also being a major contributor to climate change. World leaders at COP28 are vowing to do something about it. - [New England stone walls lie at the intersection of history, archaeology, ecology and geoscience, and deserve a science of their own]( Robert M. Thorson, University of Connecticut New England has thousands of miles of stone walls. 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