Are the practices discussed in the article represent a form of debtors' prison or are they an appropriate law enforcement tool?

1:13 PM Sun Jan 14 48% AA palmbeachstate.instructure.com + Canvas Login x Topic: LU 1.1 Discussion - Modern Da... Search Results | Course Hero G Read the attached article. Post your... IVIVUCITI Lay LOWLUIS ITISVIIS JI LV al Lcie( 1/.PUI DOWillvau Page 1 > of 2 - ZOOM + WASHINGTON, D.C. - A Southern Poverty Law Center client who served time in a modern-day debtors' prison told her story to congressional staffers on Capitol Hill and called for action to prevent others from going to jail simply for being poor. Harriet Cleveland spoke at a briefing in January that examined the practice of cities and counties hiring for-profit "probation" companies to collect fines and fees owed to the court for traffic tickets and other minor offenses. These companies, which operate across the country, often use the justice system to extort payments from the poor - including fees for their own profit - under the threat of jail. It's apparent to Cleveland that Congress must act. "It has to be addressed nationwide so [people] don't have to worry about going to jail because they can't afford to pay," she said after speaking to staff members in the Rayburn House Office Building. Nationwide problem The briefing was held the same week U.S. Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif., introduced the "End1:13 PM Sun Jan 14 48% AA palmbeachstate.instructure.com + Canvas Login x Topic: LU 1.1 Discussion - Modern Da... Search Results | Course Hero G Read the attached article. Post your... IVIVUCITI Lay LOWLUIS ITISVIIS JI LV al LICIC( 1/.PUI DOWIIIvau Page 2 of 2 - ZOOM + of Debtors' Prison Act of 2016." The legislation would cut federal funds from municipalities that hire for-profit private probation companies. "This is not a problem that is unique to Alabama," said SPLC Deputy Legal Director Sam Brooke, who joined Cleveland at the Washington briefing. "These same companies are working in many different states, particularly in the Southeast." When Cleveland couldn't immediately pay her traffic tickets in the city of Montgomery, Alabama, she was placed on "pay-only" probation Each month, she paid1:14 PM Sun Jan 14 48% AA palmbeachstate.instructure.com + Canvas Login x Topic: LU 1.1 Discussion - Modern Da... Search Results | Course Hero G Read the attached article. Post your... IVIVUCITI Lay LOWLUIS ITISVI15 JI LV al LICIC( 1/.PUI DOWInIva Page 2 of 2 ZOOM + Montgomery, Alabama, she was placed on "pay-only" probation. Each month, she paid $140 to Judicial Corrections Services (JCS), which collected fines for the city. For its profit, JCS kept $40 of each payment. When she couldn't pay the full amount, JCS still demanded its fee. In 2013, when she could no longer keep up with the payments, a police officer arrived at her home while she was babysitting her grandson. She was taken to jail. A judge sentenced her to 31 days, even though debtors' prisons were abolished in the U.S. almost 200 years ago. She spend two weeks behind bars before SPLC lawyers secured her release. Companies making millions An SPLC lawsuit ended when the city agreed to change it practices. JCS left Alabama last year after the SLC filed a separate suit alleging that it was violating federal racketeering laws by extorting payments from the poor. Despite this victory, hundreds of thousands of low-income people across the country are paying such fees in more ther1:14 PM Sun Jan 14 48% AA palmbeachstate.instructure.com + Canvas Login x Topic: LU 1.1 Discussion - Modern Da... Search Results | Course Hero G Read the attached article. Post your... IVIVUCITI Lay LOWLUIS ITISVIIS JI LV al LICit( 1/.PUI DOWIIIvau Page