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Today, Explained

“This will end when one of us dies”

Today, Explained

Vox

Daily News, Politics, News

4.49.5K Ratings

🗓️ 6 December 2019

⏱️ 16 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

ProPublica’s Lizzie Presser explains why Americans are being jailed for their medical debt. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

There's a town in Kansas called Coffeeville. It's named after a guy named James A. Coffee.

0:09.5

But I want to tell you about three other people I met there. There's a guy, there's a lawyer,

0:14.4

and there's a judge.

0:17.8

The guy is named Truss Biggs, and the first time he was arrested, he was out hunting in 2008.

0:24.0

His son had been diagnosed with leukemia a year before, and Truss wanted to take him

0:28.3

out for some fresh air. So they went out to a grove, and they were looking for roosting doves,

0:33.5

and a game warden came through to check their hunting permits. Truss didn't have a hunting permit.

0:40.5

So the warden ran Truss' license, and he found that there was a warrant out for Truss' arrest.

0:50.6

Truss was shocked and confused.

0:53.3

I couldn't believe it. Why would I have a warrant for my arrest? I didn't do nothing wrong.

0:58.2

You know, that I thought of.

0:59.7

He didn't understand how he could have broken a law, or even when he might have had time to

1:04.4

break the law. He was working 70-hour weeks at a lumber yard and on construction sites.

1:09.8

And he had never been to jail before. And it wasn't until the game warden drove him over the county line

1:14.9

and got him to the courthouse that he was told that the arrest warrant was for failure to appear in

1:19.8

court for a hearing over unpaid medical debt. So Truss was booked.

1:27.1

I was scared to jail. I don't know, they just freaked me out, you know, because

1:32.2

we had to go in and strip down and they pitching clothes.

1:36.2

He was given an orange jumpsuit.

1:37.8

And asked me if I wanted to flip flop for shoes, and I looked at him.

1:41.3

It's just I want shoes in case I need to run.

1:43.8

And he was also told that he was going to have to pay $500 cash bail to get out.

...

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