this post was submitted on 06 Jan 2025
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A Boring Dystopia

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[–] Flax_vert@feddit.uk 76 points 3 days ago (6 children)

There was a weird thing in England that if you were found not guilty and released from prison, you'd have to pay the prison boarding costs because you had no right to be there in the first place

[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 6 points 1 day ago

So you had no right to be there but definitely didn't have the right to not be there

[–] yetAnotherUser@discuss.tchncs.de 22 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Same thing for Germany.

Someone is currently suing the Bavarian government for 750,000€ for 13 years of wrong imprisonment (he only received 400,000€ in damages, or 75€ per day).

Now the government is demanding 100,000€ back - 50,000€ for food and accomodation and 50,000€ for the total wage he received from mandatory prison labor.

[–] Flax_vert@feddit.uk 9 points 1 day ago (1 children)

They're suing his WAGE back for work he still did???

It's not like he had any rights to do his mandatory 2€-per-hour job. Completely understandable /s

[–] NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world 46 points 3 days ago* (last edited 3 days ago) (2 children)

If I saw an article with the title

UK man has $80,000 room and board bill from prison after being found not guilty of murder.

I'd be looking to see if it was from the onion.

[–] marble@sh.itjust.works 20 points 2 days ago (1 children)
[–] NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world 14 points 2 days ago

Holy shit.

He explained that his compensation was also calculated on the assumption that he would never have worked and would have received benefits.

Fucking monsters.

[–] Gladaed@feddit.org 3 points 2 days ago (1 children)

Probably to regain the lost funds into the imprisonment fund from the compensation fund for wrongful imprisonment. Might be more of a dumb than an evil thing.

[–] NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world 5 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

No, it's evil.

Another person replied with a real story where it happened. They also did this to the guy wrongfully imprisoned 25 years

He explained that his compensation was also calculated on the assumption that he would never have worked and would have received benefits.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwy31pk1w0lo

Edit: And I could see maybe its hard to assume he'd become a lawyer or Dr with high wages, but no job with only benefits, and then room and board subtracted? Savage.

[–] CrabAndBroom@lemmy.ml 12 points 2 days ago (2 children)

The US does this too!

Washington may be the most expensive state to be behind bars, as it charges up to $100 per day just for room and board, according to Lauren-Brooke Eisen, senior counsel at New York University’s Brennan Center for Justice. Maine, which charges around $80 per day, may be the second most expensive, she added, but it’s not clear because many states don’t report the exact amounts. “Most states don’t provide the exact amount; they call for ‘full cost of incarceration’ or ‘a reasonable amount,'” Eisen told Truthdig. “In reality, these states which don’t provide real numbers may demand the steepest already very difficult for people with a criminal record to get a job, even if they committed a nonviolent crime, so steep fees can add to their struggles,” she said.

[–] captainlezbian@lemmy.world 3 points 1 day ago

Also the idea that we as the taxpayers shouldn't be paying for incarceration is ridiculous. We need to bear these costs to ensure we're incentivized to minimize overincarceration

[–] Flax_vert@feddit.uk 2 points 1 day ago

It's ridiculous. I'd say you should be the one paid compensation (although I think it is usually deducted from compensation you are awarded by the court anyway, but still ridiculous that they have the audacity)

[–] 13esq@lemmy.world 17 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I've lived in the UK my whole life and I've never heard of this. I'm going to have to ask for a source because it really does sound like an urban myth.

[–] OhNoMoreLemmy@lemmy.ml 34 points 2 days ago (1 children)

This was real until very recently.

Compensation for the wrongly convicted could be reduced by the savings on room and board you get for being locked up. Given how much money people spend on rent in the UK, this could massively reduce the compensation received.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-66417103

[–] nucleative@lemmy.world 12 points 3 days ago

Send them an invoice for your consulting services. Or, sue for kidnapping.