MONROE — Michael Dunlap will get out of prison Tuesday with no cash and two checks issued by Bank of America. One will be for $40, which the state gives most released inmates for immediate expenses. The other will be for $26 that Dunlap managed to save while behind bars.
"Every penny helps when you get out of here," said Dunlap, 35, who has served about nine months at the Monroe Correctional Complex for possession of methamphetamine.
But soon after stepping outside the prison and getting back his freedom, Dunlap may have to give up $5 of his $26 check just to cash it.
Bank of America, which has a contract with the state Department of Corrections, starts a new policy today of charging $5 for check cashing by those who don’t have an account at the bank.
The $40 check most inmates receive from the state on release is exempt from the charge, state officials said.
The fee applies to business-issued checks, not to personal checks, said Harvey Radin, a spokesman for Bank of America in San Francisco.
"It’s quite common in the industry," Radin said.
Like other banks, Bank of America has to charge the fee because cashing checks costs it time and money, Radin said, adding that the $5 fee is standard in the industry.
The fee, which applies to anyone who doesn’t have an account with the bank that’s cashing their check, can be a significant amount for inmates with little money, said Russell Clark, who has been locked up for five years in Monroe for possessing stolen property, firearms and drugs.
Clark, 48, said he has about $90 in his savings account at the prison. He works about 30 hours a week as a cleaner and earns about $55 a month.
"To save money is very difficult," he said.
Most inmates spend their money on cigarettes, coffee, candy bars and cosmetics such as shampoo and soap, said Clark, who expects to get out of the prison in late 2007.
On average, inmates have $50 to $100 in their prison savings accounts, said Karen Looney, an assistant regional business manager for the Department of Corrections. Inmates aren’t allowed to have an outside account, she said.
When inmates are released from the Monroe prison, state officials will take them to a local branch of Bank of America, but not to other banks because of the time and fuel involved, Looney said.
Radin said the bank might be able to waive the fee if an inmate’s check is less than $5. "We can work with people on a case-by-case basis," he said.
Dunlap said a friend will give him a ride Tuesday to Tukwila, where he will stay at a ministry house. He has no choice but to pay Bank of America’s $5 fee for cashing the check, Dunlap said, because he will need money for food.
He probably won’t be able to open an account at another bank, he said, because he will have only his prison ID and has a bad credit history.
Dunlap said he won’t complain about the $5 fee because it applies to everyone, not just inmates.
"It’s a burden, but it’s life," he said.
Reporter Yoshiaki Nohara: 425-339-3029 or ynohara@heraldnet.com.
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