Foster calls Connecticut's incarceration fee a regressive tax
Co-founder, Fines and Fees Justice Center; former California Superior Court judge
“It's not the way we should be running the criminal justice system. It's a regressive tax”
Source and context
Reporting
About this source
CT Mirror investigation into Connecticut's cost-of-incarceration collection law, published September 27, 2026. Based on a review of hundreds of probate-court cases filed from 2020 to 2026 and interviews with more than a dozen affected people, state officials, legislators and advocates. Anchors this case's account of the practice's scale, mechanics and the on-record positions of DAS, the Attorney General's office and named advocates and affected individuals.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Foster was commenting generally on state laws that charge incarcerated people for the cost of their imprisonment, including Connecticut's.
After the quotation
She said it does not matter that a person has already served their sentence and paid their debt to society.
How this statement is classified
Case context: Should Connecticut collect per diem incarceration fees from former inmates' settlements and windfalls?
The label describes this statement’s response within the context above.
Why this label?
Foster rejects the law as an improper way to run the criminal justice system and frames it as an unfair extra tax on formerly incarcerated people.
- Recorded on
- Published here
- People and groups discussed
- Connecticut Department of Correction, Connecticut Department of Administrative Services
Should Connecticut collect per diem incarceration fees from former inmates' settlements and windfalls?
Explore the case context, sources and public responses.
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