Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

Diverse and abundant evidence suggests that we have entered an era of pecuniary justice in which using money to punish has become excessive to the point of undermining foundational tenets of our criminal justice system. Indeed, the strain between justice and revenue is becoming increasingly volatile as the amount of outstanding criminal justice debt is immense and growing - $100 billion at the federal level, near $200 million per state. Yet, the costs of administering these sanctions are both significant and difficult to estimate. As a result, instead of simply helping keep people out of prison (as originally intended), criminal justice financial obligations produce disproportionately protracted sentences in the form of debt, while being an ambiguous source of state revenue. At stake is the potential for money to undermine equity, efficiency, and even the fundamental aims of the criminal justice system. This paper therefore examines how current practice in using monetary penalties increases inequality in punishment, creates problematic incentives for courts and law enforcement, and ultimately fails to work as a justice mechanism.