The Precursor to Bankruptcy: Debtors Prisons

Long before the credit card was invented and before bankruptcy laws were in place, individuals who were unable to pay a debt were not simply let go or given more time to pay their bills. Individuals unable to pay a debt were thrown into debtors’ prisons.

Debtors’ prisons were mostly a function of countries that developed under the common law of England or the United Kingdom. Spain, and Spanish colonies, did not typically use debtors’ prisons. They, unlike England, felt it was somewhat counterproductive to throw an individual in jail for an inability to pay a debt when that person could be working towards paying a debt in the working world.

The United Kingdom outlawed the use of debtors’ prisons in 1869. Prior to then, they had a long history of using a variety of prisons to imprison individuals for failure to pay debts. The prisons varied from what types of prisoners they housed to the freedoms offered prisoners.

Some prisons housed only prisoners that were debtors. Others housed everything from petty thieves and murderers to debtors. The freedoms also varied. Some prisoners were allowed to wander outside the prison’s grounds. Some prisons allowed their inmates to receive visitors and carry on their married lives.

In the United States, the practice of imprisoning individuals based on their debts was greatly reduced for federal debts by the government in the 1830s. The states quickly followed the federal government’s lead. While it is true that the majority of debts will not result in a person being imprisoned, child support and other court-ordered debts may actually result in prison time.

Contact a Boston Bankruptcy Lawyer

If you are in a dire financial situation and are concerned about creditors’ phone calls or are considering bankruptcy, contact the Boston bankruptcy lawyers of Joshua Spirn & Associates at 1-800-975-5346.