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Could Change In Law Mean End To Debtors' Prisons?
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In Georgia, county courts have contracted with private probation companies to collect fines from offenders. People are sometimes jailed for not being able to pay, even though the Supreme Court outlawed debtors’ prisons some 35 years ago. In the last couple of years, Georgia law changes made it harder for private probation companies to operate. What happens now to people who don’t pay the fines? We asked Marshall Project reporter Beth Schwartzapfel and Atlanta attorney Akiva Freidlin of the Southern Center for Human Rights.