Steven Edwards discusses the consequences of rising court debt and life in a “debtors’ prison”

Earlier this year, Steven Edwards landed on the cover of an important report by the American Civil Liberties Union detailing the impact of rising court fines and fees. Edwards fell on hard times after losing his leg and his brother in a 2003 car accident. He later served a two-year sentence on drug charges, and left prison owing $1,354.50 in court debt. But simply the inability to repay those court-costs landed Edwards back in jail years later, even though he faced no new charges. He was trapped in a modern-day debtors’ prison.