Poor Land in Jail as Companies Add Huge Fees for Probation

July 5, 2012 by legitgov

Poor Land in Jail as Companies Add Huge Fees for Probation 03 Jul 2012 Richard Earl Garrett is the lead plaintiff in a class action suit against the town of Harpersville, Ala. Mr. Garrett has spent a total of 24 months in jail and owes $10,000, all for traffic and license violations that began a decade ago. William M. Dawson, a Birmingham lawyer and Democratic Party activist, has filed a lawsuit for Mr. Garrett and others against the local authorities and the probation company, Judicial Correction Services, which is based in Georgia. In Georgia, three dozen for-profit probation companies operate in hundreds of courts, and there have been similar lawsuits.