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| State. Rep. Todd Stephens proposes bill to divert prisoner wages to victims |
| By mainlinemedianews.com- Dan Sokil |
| Published: 07/08/2015 |
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A bill recently passed by the state house, and introduced by state Rep. Todd Stephens (R-151st District), would make significant changes in the way victims of crimes are compensated by prison inmates. House Bill 1089 would require mandatory deductions from the wages inmates make while imprisoned, and allocate that money deducted to fulfil the costs, fees, and court-ordered payments to their victims. “Very simply, if someone steals your TV, they should not be able to buy themselves a TV in prison before paying you for the TV they stole,” Stephens said. That example is based on a real case — in April, Commonwealth court ruled against a prisoner in Lehigh County who was able to purchase a color television from the prison commissary, and a cable television subscription, by using his earnings and gifts from those outside. In 2012 that prisoner was transferred to a prison in New Jersey but failed to cancel his cable subscription, and charges were deducted from his inmate account each month until he returned nine months later. That inmate appealed the roughly $130 in cable charges he had incurred, and Stephens said that case is an example of why inmates should be required by his new bill to dedicate part of their earnings to their victims. Read More. |
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