Punishing Kids With Years of Debt

Eli Hager, The Marshall Project •

“These are children in poverty making payments to multimillion-dollar corporations, under the threat of jail,” said Jessica Feierman, senior managing director of Juvenile Law Center, a legal advocacy group in Philadelphia. “If that’s intended to develop a sense of accountability, it’s not succeeding, because it’s asking kids to do the impossible.”

About the Expert

Jessica Feierman oversees Juvenile Law Center’s projects and programs. Feierman currently leads a national effort to end fines and fees in the juvenile justice system and is engaged in litigation aimed at eliminating solitary confinement and other abusive practices in juvenile facilities.