It's illegal on a number of grounds, but because it targets those least likely to be able to fight back (the exceptionally poor), it continues to stand.
They took me back to county jail for 7 weeks for a series of hearings, immediately following my cancer surgery and radiation treatment... transported me literally the day after my radiation stopped. They waited until that day to come get me on purpose (they wanted me a few weeks earlier, but coordinated with the prison to wait). Then they charged me for my medical care while in their facility, including taking all the money I had in my bank account at the prison (which transferred with me) for canteen. Becuase they didn't give me my meds correctly while I was there, waiting until I ran out of one medication before taking me to the local MD to get a new prescription instead of filling the ones my prison doctor had given me on time, I got so bad I had to be taken to the ER and was diagnosed by the ER doctor as being, quote, "about an hour away from slipping into a coma" as a result of what they did.
They tried to get me to sign paperwork on the way in "agreeing" to pay for my medical care, even though I had been incarcerated nearly 3 years at that point. I refused, and they threatened to provide no care. I said "I dare you". So they instead acted as if I had signed the paper. I had to sue them to get them to take the bill off me, my first pro se victory against the state. They never did give me my canteen money back, but it wasn't worth a new lawsuit over ~$250. Oh, and they stole my Ralph Lauren Black Label suit, DKNY shirt, and Steve Madden shoes, which I had worn to every court appearance up to then, and which had been hung in the Captain's office (jail commander), claiming "what suit?" when my mother-in-law (who originally brought them to the jail) drove to the county to pick them up two days after my last hearing and transport back to prison. The county Sheriff used the jail building as HQ, and the Sheriff's office was right across the hall from the jail commander's office, so I would have had to file a report with the people who stole my shit.
But remember... I was the criminal!
They took me back to county jail for 7 weeks for a series of hearings, immediately following my cancer surgery and radiation treatment... transported me literally the day after my radiation stopped. They waited until that day to come get me on purpose (they wanted me a few weeks earlier, but coordinated with the prison to wait). Then they charged me for my medical care while in their facility, including taking all the money I had in my bank account at the prison (which transferred with me) for canteen. Becuase they didn't give me my meds correctly while I was there, waiting until I ran out of one medication before taking me to the local MD to get a new prescription instead of filling the ones my prison doctor had given me on time, I got so bad I had to be taken to the ER and was diagnosed by the ER doctor as being, quote, "about an hour away from slipping into a coma" as a result of what they did.
They tried to get me to sign paperwork on the way in "agreeing" to pay for my medical care, even though I had been incarcerated nearly 3 years at that point. I refused, and they threatened to provide no care. I said "I dare you". So they instead acted as if I had signed the paper. I had to sue them to get them to take the bill off me, my first pro se victory against the state. They never did give me my canteen money back, but it wasn't worth a new lawsuit over ~$250. Oh, and they stole my Ralph Lauren Black Label suit, DKNY shirt, and Steve Madden shoes, which I had worn to every court appearance up to then, and which had been hung in the Captain's office (jail commander), claiming "what suit?" when my mother-in-law (who originally brought them to the jail) drove to the county to pick them up two days after my last hearing and transport back to prison. The county Sheriff used the jail building as HQ, and the Sheriff's office was right across the hall from the jail commander's office, so I would have had to file a report with the people who stole my shit.
But remember... I was the criminal!
A Christian told me: if you were saved you cant lose your salvation. you're sealed with the Holy Ghost
I replied: Can I refuse? Because I find the entire concept of vicarious blood sacrifice atonement to be morally abhorrent, the concept of holding flawed creatures permanently accountable for social misbehaviors and thought crimes to be morally abhorrent, and the concept of calling something "free" when it comes with the strings of subjugation and obedience perhaps the most morally abhorrent of all... and that's without even going into the history of justifying genocide, slavery, rape, misogyny, religious intolerance, and suppression of free speech which has been attributed by your own scriptures to your deity. I want a refund. I would burn happily rather than serve the monster you profess to love.
I replied: Can I refuse? Because I find the entire concept of vicarious blood sacrifice atonement to be morally abhorrent, the concept of holding flawed creatures permanently accountable for social misbehaviors and thought crimes to be morally abhorrent, and the concept of calling something "free" when it comes with the strings of subjugation and obedience perhaps the most morally abhorrent of all... and that's without even going into the history of justifying genocide, slavery, rape, misogyny, religious intolerance, and suppression of free speech which has been attributed by your own scriptures to your deity. I want a refund. I would burn happily rather than serve the monster you profess to love.