Escanaba woman released from jail (Basically jailed for being poor)

[ck4829]

An Escanaba woman was released from the Delta County Jail after serving 28 days on a contempt of court charge.

Edwina Jean Nowlin, 44, Escanaba, appeared before Delta County Probate Court Judge Robert E. Goebel Jr., Monday with attorney Karl Numinen for the purposes of appealing her sentencing on contempt of court charges.

Numinen was appointed to represent Nowlin by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Michigan.

The ACLU of Michigan became involved in the case after they were notified she was jailed for her inability to reimburse the court for her son's stay at Bay Pines.

http://www.dailypress.net/page/content.detail/id/511324.html

Previous story on it:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=5357416&mesg_id=5357416

They charged her rent for being in jail and she was unable to pay it, this was insanity, plain and simple.

[MADem]

1. Little Dorrit come to life!!!!

How profoundly Dickensian!!!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Dorrit

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. There's something terribly wrong with a country

that jails a woman for being unable to pay her son's fine--and then charges HER for her jail stay. Where is compassion? Mayor LaGuardia was a NYC night court judge during the last Depression, and when a man was brought in for stealing bread, he asked the man why. The fellow said he was starving. LaGuardia fined every court officer a dollar for living in a city that allowed a man to become so desperate. He then set the man free, giving him the money as a grubstake.

Too bad the Michigan judge couldn't have been like that.