52: The Prisons You Pay For

(WATCH THIS EPISODE ON YOUTUBE) The State of Connecticut charged Teresa Beatty $249 per day, every day, while she was in prison for a minor drug offense from 2000 to 2002—But she wouldn't discover this until 20 years later. When her mother died in 2020, the State of Connecticut filed a notice in probate court demanding approximately 35%—over $83,000—of Beatty’s inheritance. And it was perfectly legal.

In fact, at least 45 states in America force you to pay (literally) for the privilege of being imprisoned in a country with one of the highest incarceration rates in the world...

This is Beatty v. Lamont (2022), State v. Richey (2019), and "Pay-To-Stay" laws.

Links

• Captive Money Lab: "Pay-to-stay laws keep a person incarcerated long after their prison term ends."
• Pay To Stay June 2025 Report, Campaign Zero Research & Policy Brief: "This report takes an in-depth look at pay-to-stay fee policies and practices of charging adults and youths held in jails, prisons, and youth residential facilities for the costs of their incarceration, including medical fees and expenses for room & board."
• The "Damaged" State v. the "Willful" Nonpayer: Pay-to-Stay and the Social Construction of Damage, Harm, and Moral Responsibility in a Rent-Seeking Society (2022) (Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences)

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0:00 - Intro

00:10 - CASES BEGIN

10:10 - What is "Pay-to-Stay"?

18:16 - States say it teaches WHAT?!

19:22 - DOES THIS EVEN HELP "TAXPAYERS"?

24:19 - SPOILER: For-profit prisons is a bad idea

28:51 - Who shoulders this burden? Black, Hispanic, the poor

33:46 - PRISONS: DELIBERATE POVERTY AND FORCED LABOR

37:41 - Incarcerated people are forced to work

42:18 - Unsafe work conditions

43:20 - The South = Highest rate in entire world

44:17 - THESE NUMBERS ARE INSANE.

45:00 - Prison Banking

46:45 - Recent accounts from incarcerated people from Oct 2025

49:48 - Captive Money Lab Research: THE IMPACTS OF PAY-TO-STAY LAWS!!!

52:13 - Reb's Rebuttal

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