Dead SC deadbeat ran to avoid jail.....again.

[Tucker]

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10026485556

Fri Apr 10, 2015, 02:17 PM

KamaAina (60,459 posts)

How falling behind on child support can end in jail
http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/how-falling-behind-child-support-can-end-jail#

Even before the video surfaced of North Charleston police officer Michael Slager shooting Walter Scott, his family and friends had told the press that they didn’t believe the story that Scott had scuffled with police, that he was not a “violent guy.”

But Scott ran from Slager, family members said, because he feared the police. One reason was because Scott, who had four children, owed back child support, something that in South Carolina and across the country can carry jail time. “I believe he didn’t want to go to jail again,” Scott’s father said on “The Today Show” on Wednesday morning.

Though all 50 states have laws on the books that include jail time for non-payment of child support – a penalty that concerns civil libertarians and children’s advocates alike – South Carolina has one of the harshest regimes in the country when it comes to punishing parents who don’t pay. And there’s no evidence that the punitive measures are working: According to federal data, the state is actually below the national average in every single measure of how effectively it is collecting child support funds.

Two surveys of county jails in the South Carolina conducted in the last decade found that at least one out of every eight incarcerated people were there because they had been held in contempt of court for not paying child support. Under South Carolina law, if a family receives public benefits, it takes only five days of a non-custodial parent, usually a father, falling behind on a payment to trigger a civil contempt hearing that could mean ending up in jail for up to a year. And unlike many other states, South Carolina doesn’t allow modifications for how much child support is owed if the parent is incarcerated, whether for owing child support or another reason. The result in states without such modifications is that people can easily leave jail owing $15,000 to $30,000 in child support, in addition to other fees related to their incarceration.


Another "poverty violation"

He should have held a steady job instead of spending his days drinking Thunderbird.

Response to KamaAina (Original post)

Fri Apr 10, 2015, 02:24 PM

NoJusticeNoPeace (3,435 posts)
2. Some dads arent gonna pay whether they have the money or not, but most will, we assume

this man would have unless we see otherwise.

The blame is an economy and oligarchical infrastructure, starting with Reagan tax cuts, that make it impossible for a man to support his family

False assumption.

Response to KamaAina (Original post)

Fri Apr 10, 2015, 02:25 PM

Star Member yeoman6987 (6,073 posts)
3. I am for both parents being financially responsible for raising their child.

But it doesn't make sense to me to put them in jail which results in even more being owed. Why can't they take it out of the paycheck, tax refunds and other options? The one thing I always thought was why the city doesn't hire them for extra jobs like cleaning a park or something like that. Cities should work with parents to get control of what they owe.

They can't take it out of a welfare check.

Response to yeoman6987 (Reply #3)

Fri Apr 10, 2015, 02:37 PM

Fantastic Anarchist (5,248 posts)
7. Exactly!!!!

If they don't have a job, they can work some sort of community service, and have their pay directly given to the child/children. Even if they have a job, and are able (depending on circumstances), they can earn extra doing community service.

They can earn their way back to a zero balance, and keep out of jail.

And where does the money come from to pay the deadbeat?

Response to KamaAina (Reply #5)

Fri Apr 10, 2015, 02:59 PM

johnnysad (89 posts)
12. The punishment has to be real for being a dead beat dad or mom

Some pay because they know it's their child
Some others pay only because they don't want to sit in a cell

We need the threat of jail same as not paying your taxes

Mole alert!!!

Response to loyalsister (Reply #14)

Sat Apr 11, 2015, 12:03 AM

Star Member jwirr (28,683 posts)
38. On the form to get welfare you have to tell them who the father is. Then the state follows up with

setting up a collections program. Today it is the state that does the chasing no matter what the ex spouse wants

Not any more. With 80% of black babies being born to unwed mothers, the baby momma just puts on the application: "Father unknown. I can narrow it down to six men."

[Carl]

The minute a state demanded public service in exchange for public services delivered to them,all you would hear from the left is "SLAVERY!!!!"

[Linda]

IMHO putting men or women in jail for non payment of child support is the same as a debtors prison. There should be another way to deal with this problem. How can a man or woman ever pay if they are sitting in jail? Or as in Fla they also take their driver license away from them. In Fla most places don't have mass transit like the big democratic cities.

I do believe parents should support their children, and if being a dead beat is enough to send you to jail, then it is time to add those who make a living off of welfare to the jail roster. Just for the DUmmies reading this...that does not mean those people who really need help to survive the sick and mentally disabled.

[SVPete]

There's a really simple method to avoid going to jail for failing to pay child support:

* Have a job that supports you without government "assistance";

* Don't do what makes babies until it's with some one to whom you're married, and choose that person wisely;

* Stay married to that person; keep earning your family's keep.

It's worked well for me for 3 1/2 decades! And there's whole bunches of people who could say much the same!

[ExGeeEye]

< sarc on >

Check your privilege.

< sarc off >

[obumazombie]

I saw Walter Scott climbing out of a Mercedes.