After a couple of jail stays a few years ago, Kathryn Geionety decided to turn her life around.
The 44-year-old single mother of three took a part-time job at a discount store, enrolled in community college and committed to no longer dealing drugs.
But a phone call to the Pottawatomie County clerk’s office revealed that a fresh start wouldn’t be so easy. She was told she owed roughly $15,000 in court fines and fees, the majority of which were daily jail fees.
“It was stressful because I know I didn’t want to get another warrant out for not paying my fines,” Geionety said. “So sometimes I just paid what I could. To me it at least showed I was trying. I was trying to straighten up and do right. And I was like, ‘Oh my God, it’s gonna be so long before I can even make a dent in it.”
She had paid $645 of the debt.
Like those in the same situation, Geionety faced cutting back on food and other necessities, quitting school to work more hours, or even committing another crime to help pay off the debt.