Debtors' prison

en.wikipedia.org · 6,973 words · saved by 1 readers

A debtors' prison is a prison for people who are unable to pay debt. Until the mid-19th century, debtors' prisons (usually similar in form to locked workhouses) were a common way to deal with unpaid debt in Western Europe. Destitute people who were unable to pay a court-ordered judgment would be incarcerated in these prisons until they had worked off their debt via labour or secured outside funds to pay the balance. The product of their labour went towards both the costs of their incarceration and their accrued debt. Increasing access and lenience throughout the history of bankruptcy law have made prison terms for unaggravated indigence obsolete over most of the world.

Debtors' prison - Wikipedia Jump to content From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Prison for people unable to repay a debt "Imprisonment for debt" redirects here. For Upper Canada, see Imprisonment for debt (Upper Canada) . See also: Debt bondage The 18th-century debtors' prison at the Castellania in Valletta , now the offices of the Health Ministry in Malta A debtors' prison is a prison for people who are unable to pay debt . Until the mid-19th century, debtors' prisons (usually similar in form to locked workhouses ) were a common way to deal with unpaid debt in Western Europe . [ 1 ] Destitu

Debtors' prison

related reading