A probation company in South Georgia – with the help of local police – is wrongfully detaining and demanding payments from poor people found guilty of misdemeanors, according to allegations in a federal lawsuit.
The civil rights lawsuit alleges that Red Hills Community Probation conspired with police officers to demand day-of-court payments from poor defendants at municipal courts in Bainbridge and Pelham.
Red Hills probation officers and police, acting without court authorization or legal authority, detained indigent defendants until they made payments toward fines and fees or found a relative or friend who could come to the courthouse with cash, the lawsuit alleges. The lawsuit also claims that the probation company wrongfully ordered probationers to report and make payments after their probation terms ended.
The actions resulted in false imprisonment, unlawful imprisonment for debt and other violations of rights, according to the lawsuit, which was prepared by attorneys at the Atlanta-based Southern Center for Human Rights. The cities of Bainbridge and Pelham are among those named as defendants.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Georgia and announced today, is the latest attack on Georgia’s misdemeanor probation system.
Maggie Crutchfield, the chief executive officer of Red Hills Community Probation, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Monday that she had not seen the lawsuit. But she denied that her company demanded day-of-court payments from probationers under threat of lock-ups. She said any immediate payments were voluntary.
“We always ask people, ‘Do you want to put something down?’ ” Crutchfield. “That’s it. If they don’t, they don’t.”
Crutchfield also denied that her company required probationers to report after their terms ended. She said she routinely waives probation supervision fees for clients who are struggling. Crutchfield also said she supports reforms that are coming to Georgia’s probation companies.
Complaints about abusive practices in the state's misdemeanor probation system prompted the Georgia General Assembly to pass legislation last month aimed at reforming the system. The legislation awaits Gov. Nathan Deal's signature.
The lawsuit alleges that one plaintiff, Adel Edwards, was given a $500 fine for burning leaves in his yard without a permit. Edwards, who is indigent, was placed on probation to give him a year to pay off the fine. The probation officers told Edwards that with probation fees included he would owe a total of $1,028 and would have to make an immediate payment.
Edwards did not have any money and was taken to jail until a friend was able to bring $250 so he could be released, the suit alleges.
Vera Cheeks, also a plaintiff, was fined $135 for a stop sign violation. Probation fees upped her total amount owed to $267. Cheeks was told she was go to jail unless she paid $50 immediately. While Cheeks was detained, her fiance pawned her engagement ring and a piece of lawn equipment to get the money for her release. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported on Cheeks' case in November, as part of an ongoing investigation of the state's misdemeanor probation system.
Another plaintiff, Fred Barber, pleaded guilty to driving with a suspended registration and was detained in a courthouse holding cell until his cousin arrived with $70.
The probation company’s practices drew entire families into the collection scheme, the suit alleges, by telling probationers without any cash to call family members for help.
“In this way, Red Hills probation officers exploit poor families under color of law, effectively demanding a ransom for the return of their loved ones,” the lawsuit alleges.
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