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Debtors' prison

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A debtors' prison is a prison for those who are unable to pay a debt.

Prior to the mid 19th century debtors' prisons were a common way to deal with unpaid debt.[1] Currently, the practice of giving prison sentences for unpaid debts has been mostly eliminated, with a few exceptions such as inability to pay child support and certain taxes, and some specific countries, such as the United Arab Emirates.

By region

Medieval Europe

During Europe's Middle Ages, debtors, both men and women, were locked up together in a single large cell, until their families paid their debt.[2] Debt prisoners often died of disease contracted from other debt prisoners. Conditions included starvation and abuse from other prisoners. If the father of a family was imprisoned for debt, the family business often suffered while the mother and children fell into poverty. Unable to pay the debt, the father often remained in debtors' prison for many years. Some debt prisoners were released to become serfs or indentured servants (debt bondage) until they paid off their debt in labor.

United Kingdom

In the United Kingdom, debtors' prisons varied in the amount of freedom they allowed the debtor. With a little money, a debtor could pay for some freedoms; some allowed inmates to conduct business and receive visitors; others (for example, the Fleet and King's Bench Prisons) even allowed inmates to live a short distance outside the prison — a practice known as the 'Liberty of the Rules' — and the Fleet even tolerated clandestine 'Fleet Marriages'.

Life in these prisons, however, was far from pleasant and the inmates were forced to pay for their keep. Samuel Byrom, son of writer and poet, John Byrom, was imprisoned for debt in Fleet Prison in 1725, and in 1729 he sent a petition to his old school friend, The Duke of Dorset, in which he raged against the injustices of the system:

What barbarity can be greater than for gaolers (without provocation) to load prisoners with irons, and thrust them into dungeons, and manacle them, and deny their friends to visit them, and force them to pay excessive fines for their chamber rent, their victuals and drinks; to open their letters and seize the charity that is sent to them! And when debtors have succeeded in arranging with their creditors, hundreds are detained in prison for chamber-rent and other unjust demands put forward by their gaolers, so that at last, in their despair, many are driven to commit suicide...gaolers should be paid a fixed salary and forbidden, under pain of instant dismissal, to accept bribe, fee or reward of any kind...law of imprisonment for debts influicts a greater loss on the country, in the way of wasted power and energies, than do monasteries and nunneries in foreign lands, and among Roman-Catholic peoples...Holland, the most unpolite country in the world, uses debors with mildness and malefactors with rigour; England, on the other hand, shows mercy to muderers and robbers, but of poor debtors impossibilities are demanded...Manchester Times 22 October 1862[3]

Some debtors prisoners were even less fortunate, being sent to prisons with a mixture of vicious criminals and petty criminals, and many more were confined to a single cell.

The father of the English author Charles Dickens was sent to one of these prisons (Marshalsea Prison), which were often described in Dickens' novels.[4]

The Debtors Act 1869 abolished imprisonment for debt, although debtors who had the means to pay their debt, but did not do so, could still be incarcerated for up to six weeks.

Notable London debtors' prisons

United States

In 1833 the United States abolished Federal imprisonment for unpaid debts,[5] and most states outlawed the practice around the same time.[6][7] Before then, the use of debtor's prisons was widespread; signatories to the Declaration of Independence, James Wilson & Robert Morris were both later incarcerated, as were 2,000 New Yorkers annually by 1816. Henry Lee III, better known as Light-Horse Harry Lee, a Revolutionary War general, former governor of Virginia, and father of Robert E. Lee, was imprisoned for debt between 1808 and 1809.[8] Sometimes, imprisonment would result from less than sixty-cents worth of debt.[9]

It is still possible to be incarcerated for debt, though this may be unconstitutional unless the court finds that the debtor actually possesses the means to pay.[10][11]

The constitutions of the U.S. states of Tennessee and Oklahoma forbid civil imprisonment for debts.[12]

Notable previous Virginia debtors' prisons

Greece

Ιmprisonment for debts, whether to the tax office or to private banks, was still practiced until January 2008, when the law changed after imprisonment for unpaid taxes or other debts to the government or to the social security office was declared unconstitutional after being practised for 173 years, but still retained imprisonment for debts to private banks.[clarification needed] However, the situation regarding imprisonment (προσωποκράτηση) for debts to the government is still unclear, as courts continue to have this ability for criminal acts.[13]

Germany

In the Middle Ages, before the introduction of public law, a debtor who defaulted could be sent to debtor’s prison by the creditor, which was often a private prison. This would often be accompanied by a work program. In the late Middle Ages, and at the beginning of the modern era, public law was codified in Germany. This served to standardize the coercive arrest (Pressionshaft), and got rid of the many arbitrary sanctions that were not universal.[14] In some areas (like Nürnberg) the debtor could sell or redistribute their debt. In most of the cities the towers and city fortifications functioned as jails. For certain sanctions there were designated prisons, hence some towers being called debtors prison (Schuldturm). The term Schuldturm, outside of the Saxon constitution, became the catchword for public law debtor’s prison.

Schuldturm in Nuremberg

In the modern era the debtor’s detainment or citizen’s arrest remained valid in Germany. Sometimes it was used as a tool to compel payment, other times it was used to secure the arrest of an individual and ensure a trial against them in order to garnish wages, replevin or a form of trover. This practice was particularly disgraceful to a person’s identity, but had different rules than criminal trials. It was more similar to the modern enforcement of sentences (Strafvollzug) e.g.: the debtor would be able to work off their debt for a certain amount of days, gradated by how much they owed. During the 19th Century the debtor’s prison in Europe was mostly eliminated. In France this process began in 1867, then came Austria, and the North German Confederation on May 29th, 1868. Great Britain passed the Debtors Act in 1869 and in Sweden the step was taken in 1879. In 1976 Article 11 of the ICCPR – International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights – came into effect stating, “No one shall be imprisoned merely on the ground of inability to fulfill a contractual obligation.”

At present a comparable concept to debtors prison still exists in various forms in Germany:

  • A maximum 6 months of coercive arrest (Erzwingungshaft) is still available for a sworn affidavit for insurance of a debtor under §901 ZPO.
  • A maximum of 6 weeks coercive arrest for refusal of payment or fine.
  • As an alternative sentence.
  • As a personal arrest for the securing of a foreclosure or garnishment on wages

United Arab Emirates

Debtors in the United Arab Emirates, including Dubai, can be imprisoned for failing to pay their debts.[15] [16]

China

While Hong kong has long imprisoned debtors,[17][18] the first mainland prison sentence for unpaid debts was handed down in 2008. Life imprisonment is possible for non-repayment of debts incurred with "malicious intent".[19]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Cory, Lucinda. "A Historical Perspective on Bankruptcy", On the Docket, Volume 2, Issue 2, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Rhode Island, April/May/June 2000, retrieved December 20, 2007.
  2. ^ http://www.articlesdepo.com/loans/56618.php
  3. ^ Anon (22 October 1862). "In prison for debt". Manchester Times. Manchester, England. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  4. ^ http://www.charles-dickens.com/ Charles Dickens Bibliography
  5. ^ "Timeline: A Brief History of Bankruptcy". The New York Times. 2005-11-16. Retrieved 2010-05-16.
  6. ^ Wendy McElroy (2008-04-01). "The Return of Debtors' Prison?". Retrieved 2010-05-16.
  7. ^ Jill Lepore (2009-04-13). "I.O.U". New Yorker. Retrieved 2010-05-16. "Imprisonment for debt was abolished in New York in 1831".
  8. ^ http://leeboyhoodhome.com/lhhleebio2.html
  9. ^ McMaster, John B. (1903). The acquisition of political, social, and industrial rights of man in America. Cleveland: Imperial Press. p. 63. ISBN 978-1409771876. Retrieved 2010-05-16.
  10. ^ "The New Debtors' Prisons". The New York Times. 2009-04-05.
  11. ^ "Debtors' prison— again". St. Petersburg Times. 2009-04-14.
  12. ^ Oklahoma State Constitution 2 § 13
  13. ^ http://www.reporto.gr/news.asp?ID=7710
  14. ^ http://www.berlinonline.de/berliner-zeitung/archiv/.bin/dump.fcgi/2006/0919/recht/0108/index.html
  15. ^ Worth, Robert F. (2009-02-12). "Laid-Off Foreigners Flee as Dubai Spirals Down". The New York Times. Retrieved 2010-05-01.
  16. ^ Arnold, Wayne (2008-12-24). "How the world is dealing with the issue of debtors". The National. Retrieved 2010-05-15.
  17. ^ "Debtors' prison awaits deadbeats in Hong Kong". 1984-02-05. Retrieved 2010-05-16.
  18. ^ "IN HONG KONG, SOME DEBTORS STILL GO TO JAIL". 1983-05-08. Retrieved 2010-05-16. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |Author= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |Publisher= ignored (|publisher= suggested) (help)
  19. ^ "Debtors could face jail time". 2009-12-16. Retrieved 2010-05-16.

Literature

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