Pay to Stay: The Corrupt Prison System
Mia Brito
Published on 2/4/19 - OpEd
Chris Brown has faced yet another run in with the law. He and two unidentified others were arrested in Paris this Tuesday.
They were arrested on allegations of aggravated rape and drug violations. The three have since been released and currently face no charges, but the investigation is still ongoing. He has openly denied the allegation on his Instagram account, stating it is greatly against his character and morals.
The public is split on whether or not to support Brown. Many see him as a changed man while others can't seem to get past his prior run-ins with the law. His lawyer claims that ince Brown has not officially been charged with anything, he has been subject to "slander of which he has unfairly been the subject."
Brown is often judged quickly by the public because he is a celebrity. What the public may not know, however, is that the wealthy are favored when it comes to the judicial system.
The famous and the wealthy have a special place in the prison system that common folk aren't welcome to. Southern California has some of the roughest and most violent prisons in the nation, but for the right price your jail time can become almost bearable.
It's called the Pay-to-Stay system; it allows those convicted of most misdemeanors and some felonies to stay in a safe, clean, and secure environment. Pay-to-Stay inmates are housed separately from regular inmates and receive special privileges that normal prisoners don't get. Pay-to-Stay inmates are able to serve their time in small increments of time. The most popular of there options seems to be serving their time only on weekends.
These types of systems are present mainly in the state of California. Home to some of the most famous people in the world, California has always had a reputation for letting celebrities and the wealthy alike walk all over the prison and judicial system.
Our laws differ significantly from laws of other states and seem to have less severe consequences.
In 1978, movie and television star Tim Allen was arrested for the possession of 1.4 pounds of cocaine and charged with drug trafficking. Allen was given a special plea deal and was only given seven years in exchange for the names of other drug dealers. He only served two and a half years of his sentence before being paroled.
Around the same time a Michigan man was giving a life sentence for having just over 500 grams of cocaine. To put this in perspective, Allen had around 150 grams more than the Michigan man, yet only got a fraction of the time. This Michigan man was an Air Force Honor Guard and yet received none of the privileges or offers that Allen had.
This is no rare occurrence. OJ Simpson served just nine years of his 33 years sentence. After looking into it, it seems that almost every celebrity has received some form of early release.
There isn't an answer as to why states differ so much when it comes to their laws and prison systems, but it is no secret that the laws do favor different socioeconomic groups.
This poses a significant dilemma for the public, who do we fight against?
Should we throw anger at the celebrity or should we direct it towards the system that lets allows it to happen?
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