
Alabama judge orders poor defendants to give blood to avoid jail - basseq
http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2015/10/20/alabama_judge_orders_poor_defendants_to_give_blood_to_avoid_jail.html
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basseq
Courts charge money for court fees and fines. In many cases, if you don't pay
those fees, you could be imprisoned. In an effort to increase blood donations,
the court temporarily accepted blood donation receipts in lieu of cash.

I don't have a problem with this. In effect, the court is paying people (by
forgiving debt) to donate blood.

It sounds like a) it was poorly worded by the judge and b) people didn't
understand. He _should_ have said, "If you're unable to pay your court fees or
fines today, you may be imprisoned." (Something he probably says every day.)
Then, "Please note that we're accepting blood donation receipts in lieu of
cash for court fees and fines today."

