Debtors' Prison, 21st Century Style

The WSJ's Jessica Silver-Greenberg reports that "[m]ore than a third of all U.S. states allow borrowers who can't or won't pay to be jailed. Judges have signed off on more than 5,000 such warrants since the start of 2010 in nine counties with a total population of 13.6 million people, according to a tally by The Wall Street Journal of filings in those counties. Nationwide figures aren't known because many courts don't keep track of warrants by alleged offense. In interviews, 20 judges across the nation said the number of borrowers threatened with arrest in their courts has surged since the financial crisis began." For more see Welcome to Debtors' Prison, 2011 Edition. [JH]