Regarding a recent commentary pertaining to House Bill 1412 (“Those convicted shouldn’t be escuse from restitution,” The Herald, Feb. 6). This bill relates to removing the mandatory requirements for payment of legal financial obligations for convicted criminals. It is an example of how society can make strides toward reducing systemic racism as well as supporting members of the community who are working to regain a place in society after being incarcerated.
Alexes Harris, a professor of sociology at the University of Washington has written about monetary sanctions. She found in her research that those with outstanding fines and fees are disproportionately Black, Latino, Indigenous, and low income. Seventy percent of people who are unable to pay monetary sanctions are more likely to be unemployed, underemployed, unsheltered, and often struggle with disabilities and mental illness.
If $5 or $10 a month is not considered to be an “undue hardship” as the letter writer noted, is $60 a year really going to have an impact on the agency or insurance company entitled to receive the payment? The amounts do add up, I realize, and someone has to pay for incurred expenses. But the social cost of human beings struggling to get back on track and then falling back down due to finances also has an impact on all of us. If they truly cannot meet the financial obligation, what benefit is it to anyone to try to force the payment, along with accrued interest?
This bill gives the court the ability to “determine if the offender is not required to pay, or the court may relieve the offender of the requirement to pay full or partial restitution and accrued interest on restitution to any insurer or entity that is not an individual if the offender reasonably satisfies to the court that he or she does not have the means to make full or partial restitution to the insurer or entity that is not an individual.” This would imply that the victim isn’t even affected by a lack of payment.
House Bill 1412 simply allows judges to determine if a convicted criminal is able to meet the legal financial obligations. This is a bill that should pass.
Cheryl Mercer
Everett
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