one of the most insidious lies that well-meaning people tell when defending social programs like free breakfast and lunch for school kids or free healthcare is that prisoners get free food and free healthcare. putting aside the fact it plays on popular narratives that prisoners are all evil people who need t be made as miserable as possible to erase their sins, it’s just not true.
increasingly we see more and more jails and prisons in the US switching to a “pay to stay” model. what this means is they get charged extortion prices in court fees and booking fees on top of being charged anywhere from $3-$50 per day they’re incarcerated to pay for housing and food. any money that gets put on that prisoner’s books for commissary is going to be taken to pay for the daily fees. if a prisoner doesn’t have anyone regularly sending them money, it’s very easy for them to fall deeply into debt when they get released. this serves a double purpose: it can either extort the friends and families of people who are incarcerated or it can leave prisoners so deeply in debt that it’s impossible for them to get back on their feet.
ok, that’s awful, and clearly extortion, but at least prisoners don’t get denied food for having debt, right? well, it’s a lot more complicated than that. it’s pretty clear that prisoners are not fed edible food, anyone that’s worked in the kitchen can tell you that. they get fed rotten, expired, dirty, and, sometimes, even maggot infested food. it’s poison. they NEED to make commissary to have access to food that won’t slowly kill them. for those that don’t know, commissary is a privilege prisoners are given where they can buy things, whether it’s food, electronics, books, medicine, clothing, religious items, etc, from a prison-run store, with money either saved up from slavery-wage prison jobs or from friends and families putting money on prisoners books (female prisoners have to buy menstrual supplies from here). if they don’t have access to official money on their books because it’s being taken to pay for their incarceration, or they’re just so deeply in debt it doesn’t matter, they’re gonna have to do something against the rules (a prison hustle) to trade for the things directly from other prisoners.
ok, you’re tired of me preaching at you about food, buy don’t prisoners get free healthcare? no, they don’t. prisoners have to sign medical forms to be seen by prison healthcare staff. regular medical slips can take up to a week to get processed, and dental slips can take months (i know a guy who waited 11 months to get seem for tooth pain). it’s not uncommon for prisoners to die from medical complications while waiting for care. not only that, but prisoners DO have to pay for the care they get. it either gets added to their debt or they have to pay directly from their books. the healthcare is often upcharged and usually ineffective. i’m not saying this to guilt anyone, i’m just saying this so people open their eyes a little bit as to what’s happening behind closed doors.
tangentwithtanner
stormborns
germansingergirl
amandla
gracieabrams
areudirty
