Across racially segregated St. Louis County, Missouri, thousands of people have been routinely sent to jail because they cannot pay local court fines and fees. The vast majority of those fined are poor and black. In Ferguson and the surrounding municipalities, where police shooting victim Michael Brown was killed, a practice with historical antecedents has become systematic: jailing the impoverished when they are unable to pay fines and fees. In A Debtors’ Prison, Samantha Jenkins and Meredith Walker recount their unfolding court cases in St. Louis County, describing the matrix of controls that has incarcerated them repeatedly for being poor.

Through the stories in A Debtors’ Prison, students will understand how aggressive policing, court fees and monetary sentencing have created a cycle of debt and incarceration in poor communities across the United States. They will compare the circumstances in Missouri municipal courts to the policies and procedures of their local juvenile justice systems and write persuasive essays in the form of letters to their local representatives.

OBJECTIVES

In this lesson, students will:

• Learn about debtors’ prisons and their history
• Explain how court fees and fines can lead to the cycle of debt and incarceration depicted in A Debtors’ Prison
• Compare and evaluate the personal, social and civic costs of criminalizing poverty
• Report on the impact of juvenile justice policies in their town/city and describe reforms that should be implemented
• Write persuasive essays in the form of letters to their elected officials and present their research, argument and recommendations to their representatives and community leaders

GRADE LEVELS: 8-12+

SUBJECT AREAS

• Civics
• Civil Rights
• Fourteenth Amendment
• History
• Social Studies

MATERIALS

• Film, A Debtors’ Prison, and equipment on which to show it (streaming here or available on DVD through the POV Community Network)
• Student Handouts (download all handouts here)
  • Student Handout A: The Price of Justice
  • Student Handout B: A Debtors’ PrisonNotes
  • Student Handout C: Film Discussion
• Teacher Handouts
  • Teacher Handout A: The Price of Justice
  • Teacher Handout B: Jenkins v. City of Jennings
• Computers with Internet access

ESTIMATED TIME NEEDED

Two to three 50-minute class periods plus homework

PREPARATION

Viewing and discussing sensitive material:

This lesson and the accompanying film address sensitive social issues and teachers should screen the film and review all of the related materials prior to implementing it. Some of your students may have been personally affected by these issues and their perspectives and sensitivities should inform how the lesson is presented. In advance of the lesson, it would be helpful to connect with a school social worker for resources specific to your school community’s needs and guidelines.

Remind the class that the classroom is a supportive environment and review your classroom’s tools for creating a safe space, including class agreements. These might include guidelines like “no name-calling,” “no interrupting,” “listen without judgment,” “use respectful language,” “share to your level of comfort,” “you have the right to pass” and so on. And remind students that when they talk about groups of people, they should be careful to use the word “some,” not “all.”

For additional resources and strategies for tackling challenging topics in the classroom, visit Teaching Tolerance:

• Social Justice Standards | The Teaching Tolerance Anti-bias Framework

https://www.tolerance.org/professional-development/social-justice-standards-the-teaching-tolerance-antibias-framework

• Teaching at the Intersections

https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/summer-2016/teaching-at-the-intersections

• Let's Talk! Discussing Race, Racism and Other Difficult Topics With Students

https://www.tolerance.org/magazine/publications/lets-talk

VOCABULARY

• Adjudicate
• Debtors’ Prison
• Delinquency
• Indigent
• Jail
  Municipal Government
• Prison
• Recidivism

Introduction – Punishing Poverty

Do Now: Think-Pair-Share

Post the following quote on the board and ask students to rewrite it in their own words. Have them share their interpretations with a partner then discuss as a class.

“If justice is priced in the marketplace, individual liberty will be curtailed and respect for law diminished.”

Robert F. Kennedy, 1962

Review student responses and discuss:

• What is Kennedy saying in this quote?
• What did he mean by “if justice is priced in the marketplace”? What was he warning against?
• What real-world examples can you give (from the past or present) that illustrate what happens when “justice is priced in the marketplace”?
• Do you agree with Kennedy? Why or why not?

2. The Price of Justice

Distribute Student Handout A: The Price of Justice and one factsheet from Teacher Handout A: The Price of Justice to each student. Give students a few minutes to read quietly and reflect on the information in the factsheet, then have them summarize the information in their own words on Student Handout A, page 1. Ask each to think of at least two questions that their factsheet has raised for them.

Next, have each student find a partner with a different factsheet and review the instructions on Student Handout A, page 2. Partners will take turns reading their factsheets out loud, sharing their responses to the information, providing respectful feedback and refining their summaries. Instruct each student to swap their factsheet with their partner’s. (Note: Students will be working from their partners’ factsheets and the discussion notes from Student Handout A, page 2 for the rest of the activity.

Group discussions:

Have the class organize into discussion groups to review and discuss each of the seven factsheets. Each group should have at least one student representing each of the seven factsheets. Each student in the discussion group should share a summary of their factsheet and the take-aways and unanswered questions from their previous discussion with their partner. The student(s) will then lead a brief clarifying and feedback discussion with the group. (If two students in one group read the same factsheet, they may lead the group discussion together.)

Following the group discussions, reconvene the class for a brief reflection and discussion:

• What topics or information stood out for you? What was most surprising?
• What were the common themes and issues that all the factsheets shared?
• How would you compare/contrast Robert F. Kennedy’s quote with the information you discussed with your group?
• What is a debtors’ prison? Do we still have them in the U.S.? Why or why not?

3. A Debtors’ Prison

Introduce the film A Debtors' Prison and distribute Student Handout B: A Debtors’ Prison Notes. Screen the film. While watching the film, students should take notes by filling in the large areas provided with the events, challenges, policies and barriers that lead to each woman’s incarceration.

Following the screening, have students identify similarities in the two women’s experiences and list the most common factors that contribute to people being jailed for debt in the small area (for example: discriminatory policing, limited access to financial and legal resources, intergenerational poverty, underemployment, illness, punitive fees that fail to account for the defendant’s ability to pay and institutional racism. For a primer on institutional racism, see page 15 of POV’s Discussion Guide for Raising Bertie).

For additional background on the class action lawsuit mentioned in the film, see Teacher Handout B: Jenkins v. City of Jennings.

Group discussions:

Organize the class into small discussion groups and distribute one copy of Student Handout C: Film Discussion to each group. Have groups discuss the questions in the handout (also below):

1. What surprised you most? What information, quote or scene was most significant for you? Why?
2. Samantha Jenkins says, “St. Louis is like a war zone. We get harassed a lot.” What does she mean? Who is “we” and what form of harassment are they experiencing?
3. What violations were Meredith Walker and Samantha Jenkins initially charged with? How did they end up being jailed multiple times over many years and owing thousands of dollars more than their initial fines?
4. Meredith Walker explains that she was charged for driving without insurance, but the officers never explained why they targeted her car and “ran her plates.” Why is that significant?

Note: Much like controversial “stop and frisk” policies, the practice of “running plates” without probable cause has raised concerns about racial profiling and abuse of power. Although, there is currently no federal statute that prevents officers from checking license plates without probable cause (multiple courts across the country have ruled that it does not violate the Fourth Amendment) some states and municipalities have enacted policies that restrict the practice.

1. What factors increased the risk for St. Louis County residents like Walker and Jenkins ending up in a cycle of debt and incarceration?
2. What steps did Walker and Jenkins take to comply with the court penalties and find workable solutions to keep them out of jail? What was the outcome of their efforts?
3. What was Jenkins’s response to the financial settlement she received from the class-action lawsuit? If you were in her position, what compensation would you expect from your city?

4. Constitutional Rights

Reconvene the class and introduce the Fourteenth Amendment concepts of equal protection and due process using the definitions from Teacher Handout B as a guide. Explain that those two principles were invoked in the class action lawsuit Jenkins v. City of Jennings.

Discuss:

• Do you think the city of Jennings violated the class action litigants’ Equal Protection rights? Explain your reasoning.
• Do you think the city of Jennings violated the class action litigants’ Due Process rights? Explain your reasoning.
• Both Meredith Walker and Samantha Jenkins admit that they were guilty of the charges filed against them, so why did they object to the penalties the court imposed? If, for instance, the legal fine for a traffic violation is $100, is it equally fair for all drivers to pay the same penalty regardless of their financial circumstances? Why or why not? (How is the burden of a $100 penalty different for one person than it is for another?)

Have volunteers read the following information aloud to the class.

In 2015, the U.S. Department of Justice concluded a comprehensive civil-rights investigation of the Ferguson Police Department and the city’s municipal court system. The Department of Justice found that there was a system of aggressive policing and sentencing that extended into other municipalities, including Jennings, where A Debtors’ Prison was filmed.

As a result of these findings, the Supreme Court of Missouri ordered a broad range of reforms to restore public trust and ensure that constitutional standards are being applied to all cases and that every defendant is afforded due process under the law:

Ferguson’s law enforcement practices are shaped by the City’s focus on revenue rather than by public safety needs. This emphasis on revenue has compromised the institutional character of Ferguson’s police department, contributing to a pattern of unconstitutional policing, and has also shaped its municipal court, leading to procedures that raise due process concerns and inflict unnecessary harm on members of the Ferguson community. Further, Ferguson’s police and municipal court practices both reflect and exacerbate existing racial bias, including racial stereotypes. Ferguson’s own data establish clear racial disparities that adversely impact African Americans. The evidence shows that discriminatory intent is part of the reason for these disparities.

Investigation of the Ferguson Police Department

United States Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, March 4, 2015

https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/opa/press-releases/attachments/2015/03/04/ferguson_police_department_report.pdf

5. Free Writing Reflection

Have students reflect on the themes, issues, and stories from A Debtors’ Prison and how they relate to Robert F. Kennedy’s assertion. Give students 10 minutes to free-write their responses in their journals. Give students the option to share their thoughts or keep them private

6. Juvenile Justice

Explain:

In recent years, communities across the United States have begun challenging the rise of policies that criminalize poverty and target minority communities. There has also been increased attention to how these policies are affecting the juvenile justice system, where aggressive policing has trapped low-income youth and their families in a cycle of debt, incarceration and increasing poverty.

Think-Pair-Share:

Distribute a copy of the 2016 New York Times article “Court Costs Entrap Nonwhite, Poor Juvenile Offenders” to each student and have them read the article with a focus on identifying the similarities and differences between adult and youth courts.

To encourage deeper reading, you may choose to have students annotate the text using the Thinking Notes technique from Teaching Tolerance.

Instruct students to share their notes, and discuss how Dequan Jackson’s story compares with the stories conveyed in A Debtors’ Prison. Reconvene the class and have students share their observations.

7. Research Project: Order in the Court?

Explain:

Every year, approximately one million youths appear in juvenile courts across the country and face a barrage of court fees, fines, defense costs and restitution payments. According to a 2016 report by the Juvenile Law Center:

The costs for court related services, including probation, a “free appointed attorney,” mental health evaluations, the costs of incarceration, treatment or restitution payments, can push poor children deeper into the system and families deeper into debt. Youth who can’t afford to pay for their freedom often face serious consequences, including incarceration, extended probation, or denial of treatment.

Debtor’s Prison for Kids? The High Cost of Fines and Fees in the Juvenile Justice System

The Juvenile Law Center, 2016

https://debtorsprison.jlc.org/documents/JLC-Debtors-Prison.pdf

Juvenile Justice Research and Flowchart:

Organize the class into small research groups to investigate juvenile justice legislation, court procedures and sentencing in their town, city and/or municipality. Instruct students to look at:

• arrest, hearing and sentencing procedures and costs
• the court’s interpretation of due process
• demographics of youth arrest and incarceration compared with the residential population (i.e., economics, race, gender, religion, citizenship status)
• diversion programs that shift youth into community-based programs
• the financial burden for youth and their families
• psychological and financial impact on youth and their families (short- and long-term)

Encourage groups to expand their research beyond the school library and the Internet by visiting a local courthouse and interviewing people who have experience with the juvenile justice system: judges, prosecutors, public defenders, social workers, court clerks, local journalists, defendants and their families and so on.

Have students illustrate the juvenile court process and costs in the form of a flowchart using the following examples and resources:

- The Cost of Juvenile Court Involvement

https://www.scribd.com/doc/221665129/The-Cost-of-Court-Involvement

- Canva (Free Online Flowchart Maker for Educators)

https://about.canva.com/education/

- Flowchart of the Juvenile Court Process

http://njdc.info/flow-chart-of-the-juvenile-court-process

8. A Letter to My Representative: Persuasive Essay and Presentation

Have research groups investigate any significant changes to the juvenile justice system in the past decade by seeking answers to these questions:

• What departments or members of your local government are responsible for making changes to juvenile justice policy?
• If policies have changed, were those changes the result of juvenile justice reform? If so, what was changed and why? Did these reforms address the needs of economically vulnerable youth and their families? Are the reforms working?
• If no significant changes have taken place, is your city/town/municipality satisfied with the policies of the local juvenile justice system? Are there any efforts to reform the current system? If so, who is advocating for reform and what changes are they endorsing?
• What successful reforms implemented in other regions would benefit your community?

Ask students to take positions on a local juvenile justice issue and write persuasive essays in the form of letters to their local representatives. Students will mail copies of their letters and/or invite members of their local government to a presentation at your school. Each letter should include the following:

• A clear statement of opinion or position
• An explanation of why this issue is significant
• Evidence that supports the opinion (and disputes counter arguments)
• A conclusion that includes a call to action

1. Multimedia Presentation Expansions

Each research group will record video/audio of its interviews and, in the spirit of A Debtors’ Prison, make a short documentary film. The films should incorporate their research and arguments from their persuasive writing.

Instead of presenting a letter, students can transform their persuasive essays into multi-media presentations (Resources: Prezi, PowerPoint, Keynote, GoAnimate, Google Slides).

2. Due Process: Juvenile Justice from Reform School to Gault

When Illinois legislation established the first juvenile court in 1899, the goal was to provide a more progressive approach to juvenile delinquency that prioritized rehabilitation over punishment. Children would not be tried in adult court and incarcerated in adult prisons, but this improvement came at a cost. Children no longer had the same constitutional rights to due process and equal protection under the law as adults, including right to trial by jury, immunity from self-incrimination and a right to counsel regardless of financial status.

In 1964, a 15-year-old boy named Gerald Gault was arrested after a neighbor accused him and a friend of making an obscene phone call. When the police arrived, his parents were at work so the officer took him into custody without providing his family with notice. After a night in detention, Gault was adjudicated without legal counsel or an understanding of his rights. Gault challenged the constitutionality of the proceedings before the Supreme Court—In re Gault 387 U.S. 1 (1967)—and the court held that certain protections needed to be in place in juvenile delinquency hearings, including a constitutional right to free counsel.

Today, a half century after Gault, youth in most states are still not provided with free legal representation. Children’s financial eligibility is often predicated on an investigation of their families’ financial status, and this can significantly delay access to counsel while children await assistance in detention. Working in groups, students should assess the impact of Gault on their local juvenile justice system.

Resources:

• Jessica Lahey, “The Children Being Denied Due Process.” The Atlantic, May 22, 2017.

https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2017/05/the-children-being-denied-due-process/527448/

• Teresa Wiltz, “Movement Against Juvenile Court Fees Runs Into Resistance.”The Pew Charitable Trusts, January 17, 2018.

https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2018/01/17/movement-against-juvenile-court-fees-runs-into-resistance

• “Honoring Gault: Ensuring Access to Counsel in Delinquency Proceedings.” National Juvenile Defender Center, 2016.

http://njdc.info/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Access-to-Counsel-Information-Card-Final-8.18.16.pdf

• “The Price of Justice: The High Cost of ‘Free’ Counsel for Youth in the Juvenile Justice System.” Juvenile Law Center, 2018.

https://jlc.org/sites/default/files/attachments/2018-07/Paying-For-Justice-2018FINAL.pdf

• “Access Denied: A National Snapshot of States’ Failure to Protect Children’s Right to Counsel,” National Juvenile Defender Center, May 2017.

http://njdc.info/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Snapshot-Final_single-4.pdf

• Jessica Feierman with Naomi Goldstein, Emily Haney-Caron and Jaymes Fairfax Columbo, “Debtors' Prison for Kids? The High Cost of Fines and Fees in the Juvenile Justice System.” Juvenile Law Center, 2016.

https://debtorsprison.jlc.org/documents/JLC-Debtors-Prison.pdf

• “Rights of Juveniles,” U.S. Department of Justice.

https://www.justice.gov/crt/rights-juvenile

3. Black Girls Matter

Girls of color face much harsher school discipline than their white peers, but are often excluded from efforts to address the school-to-prison pipeline. Recent data show that schools are expelling and suspending black girls at alarming rates, which can lead to a harmful cycle of criminality that persists throughout their adult lives. According to the U.S. Department of Education, black girls were suspended six times more than white girls, while black boys were suspended three times as often as white boys. The failure to receive a high school diploma often places young women on a pathway to low-wage work, unemployment and incarceration.

Have the students pair with partners and distribute one of the following articles to each pair (each student will need their own copy).

Instruct the pairs to discuss the article and prompt them to think about answers to who, what, when, where, why and how. Next, reorganize the class so students pair with new partners who have different articles. Pairs can use the prompts again to guide the discussion about how criminalization of race and poverty impacts the well-being, health and opportunities of black girls. Students can pursue additional research to create multimedia reports and/or explanatory essays about the issue. They can also convene a round-table meeting with school administration to present their findings and discuss how their school can improve its own policies or those of the school district.

Articles:

• Jill Ament. “In Texas, Black Girls Are Almost Seven Times As Likely To Be Suspended From School As White Girls,” Texas Standard, January 11, 2018.

http://www.texasstandard.org/stories/in-texas-black-girls-are-almost-seven-times-as-likely-to-be-suspended-from-school-as-white-girls/?_ga=2.35933287.617374083.1537965719-1627870121.1537965644

• Lauren Camera. “Black Girls Are Twice as Likely to Be Suspended, In Every State,” U.S. News, May 9, 2017.

https://www.usnews.com/news/education-news/articles/2017-05-09/black-girls-are-twice-as-likely-to-be-suspended-in-every-state

• Tanvi Misra. “The Rising Criminalization of Black Girls,” CityLab, March 22, 2018

https://www.citylab.com/equity/2018/03/the-rising-criminalization-of-black-girls-dc/556127/

• T. Rees Shapiro. “Study: Black Girls Viewed as ‘Less Innocent’ Than White Girls,” The Washington Post, June 27, 2017.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/study-black-girls-viewed-as-less-innocent-than-white-girls/2017/06/27/3fbedc32-5ae1-11e7-a9f6-7c3296387341_story.html?utm_term=.3c2e7e110652

RESOURCES

The Film

POV: A Debtors’ Prison

amdoc.org/watch/debtorsprison

Stream the film and sign up to host a screening on POV’s official site.

POV: Media Literacy Questions for Analyzing POV Films

http://archive.pov.org/docs/POV_medialiteracy.pdf

This list of questions provides a useful starting point for leading rich discussions that challenge students to think critically about documentaries.

Debtors’ Prisons/Criminal Justice System

American Civil Liberties Union: “In For a Penny: the Rise of America’s New Debtors’ Prisons”

https://www.aclu.org/report/penny-rise-americas-new-debtors-prisons

This comprehensive report is the result of a year-long investigation into modern-day debtors’ prisons.

Brennan Center for Justice: “Criminal Justice Debt”

https://www.brennancenter.org/criminal-justice-debt

This page includes Brennan Center for Justice articles about debt and the criminal justice system, links to outside resources and a toolkit for taking action.

Juvenile Law Center: Debtors’ Prison for Kids”

https://debtorsprison.jlc.org/#!/state/maryland

This is a multimedia report on juvenile justice statutes in all 50 states. It discusses the cost of court-appointed counsel, including fees for public defenders.

The Marshall Project: “Debtors’ Prison”

https://www.themarshallproject.org/records/876-debtors-prison

This is a curated collection of articles from around the web about the issue of debtors’ prisons.

See also the Marshall Project’s FAQ about the history of debtors’ prisons: https://www.themarshallproject.org/2015/02/24/debtors-prisons-then-and-now-faq

National Public Radio: “Guilty and Charged”

https://www.npr.org/series/313986316/guilty-and-charged

A special series from NPR reports on court fees and the criminalization of poverty in the United States.

Racism/Media Representation

Color of Change: “A Dangerous Distortion of our Families: Representations of Families, by Race, in News and Opinion Media”

https://colorofchange.org/dangerousdistortion/#key_findings

This extensive January 2017 report by Travis L. Dixon from Color of Change investigates how national and local news outlets present inaccurate and racially biased coverage that perpetuates prejudice against black families.

STANDARDS

Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science and Technical Subjects (http://www.corestandards.org/assets/CCSSI_ELA%20Standards.pdf)

SL.9-10.1, 11-12.1 Initiate and participate effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (one-on-one, in groups and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade level topics, texts and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively.

SL.9-10.1.d Respond thoughtfully to diverse perspectives, summarize points of agreement and disagreement and, when warranted, qualify or justify their own views and understanding and make new connections in light of the evidence and reasoning presented.

SL. 9-10.2 Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source.

SL.11-12.2 Integrate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, orally) in order to make informed decisions and solve problems, evaluating the credibility and accuracy of each source and noting any discrepancies among the data.

SL. 9-10.3 Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning and use of evidence and rhetoric, identifying any fallacious reasoning or exaggerated or distorted evidence.

SL.11-12.3 Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning and use of evidence and rhetoric, assessing the stance, premises, links among ideas, word choice, points of emphasis and tone used.

R.I. 11-12.7 Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words in order to address a question or solve a problem.

RH.11-12.7 Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, as well as in words) in order to address a question or solve a problem.

RH.9-10.9 Compare and contrast treatments of the same topic in several primary and secondary sources.

W.9-10.2,11-12.2 Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization and analysis of content.

McREL (http://www2.mcrel.org/compendium/) a compilation of content standards and benchmarks for K-12 curriculum by McREL (Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning)

Civics, Standard 19, Level IV (Grade 9-12) 7: Knows how to use criteria such as logical validity, factual accuracy, emotional appeal, distorted evidence and appeals to bias or prejudice in order to evaluate various forms of historical and contemporary political communication (e.g., Lincoln's "House Divided," Sojourner Truth's "Ain't I a Woman?," Chief Joseph's "I Shall Fight No More Forever," Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream," campaign advertisements, political cartoons).

• • Civics, Standard 21: Understands the formation and implementation of public policy.
  • Historical Understanding, Standard 1: Understands and knows how to analyze chronological relationships and patterns.
  • Historical Understanding, Standard 2: Understands the historical perspective.
  • Language Arts, Standard 9: Uses viewing skills and strategies to understand and interpret visual media.
  • Thinking and Reasoning, Standard 3: Effectively uses mental processes that are based on identifying similarities and differences.

This lesson plan was reviewed by Rebecca Gorley of Arch City Defenders, a nonprofit civil rights law firm.