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How St. Louis Debtors’ Prisons Exploit People Like Me | St. Louis Metro News | St. Louis

Published

2 years ago

April 19, 2023

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click to enlarge COURTESY ARCHCITY DEFENDERS Umi Okoli was jailed several times in debtors’ prison in St. Louis municipalities.

African-Americans in St. Louis understand there are unwritten rules that you follow, and certain places that you avoid at all costs. Maplewood has always been one of those places.

As a plaintiff in other debtors’ prison lawsuits in St. Louis, news of the $3.25 million settlement with Maplewood is good because it’s progress. But, to this day, not one of the nearby cities that have settled similar debtors’ prison cases — Jennings, Normandy, and Edmundson — has apologized to the people their practices harmed. Maplewood is no different. The reality is that these court-approved settlements are the closest thing to remorse. That and, perhaps, changed behavior.

I have first-hand experience with the damage that debtors’ prison can cause. I was jailed 10 times in five years and paid $15,000 in fees, court costs and bond forfeitures to different municipalities over my life. While I cannot tell you about how bad things were in Maplewood, I can tell you about my experiences before and after a settlement with Normandy.My encounters with Normandy police were interesting because they happened mostly along Natural Bridge, where several St. Louis municipalities intersect. It was like a “crabs in a bucket” opportunity for scraping revenue at the time.The police seemed to prey on anyone driving in the area for tickets. I remember one specific ticket I received because it was so frivolous.
I was exiting Highway I-70, and at the exit there is one stop sign and then another 50 feet ahead, where you can make a left turn. When I got to the stop sign, I counted, one, two, okay, I’m going to turn. After I turned, the police got right behind me.He said, “You blew through the stop sign when you got off the highway there.” I told him I couldn’t have blown through it because I had to make almost a 90-degree turn. You can’t go that fast and do that, so I knew I had come to a complete stop. I don’t remember how many tickets I had in Normandy, but I remember that one being one of the more absurd of them all.At the time, I was only $500 dollars short of qualifying for welfare, and I had two children who were both in school and one was probably also in toddler care at the time.Normandy made no exception for a person’s financial situation when it came to fines and fees. There was no consideration of your ability to pay or how payment would impact the other parts of your life, especially if you were a single parent and a provider for multiple children.This often meant you were scared to go to court because you didn’t have the money, and then you were detained until you could call somebody to help you pay. If they couldn’t, then you go to the back — deeper into the jail.This predatory scheme put relationships with friends and family in a pressure cooker. You felt pressure to make financial decisions that they didn’t have a choice but to be a part of to keep you out of jail (so that you could then go back to work to pay them back). This wasn’t happening to people in just Normandy or Maplewood or Ferguson, it was endemic to St. Louis.People lost their jobs. They were in jail for several days or longer, more than a sick day or a personal day could cover. Often, they didn’t have jobs that offer those types of benefits, so it was either show up or lose your job. Once you’re out of jail, you might try to get your job back or fill out an application for somewhere else.Either way, you had to take the risk to get back on the road again, in order to work and pay the money you owe. You start all over again, accumulating charges and more expenses. It’s like a never-ending hamster-wheel for people in poverty.There’s really no amount of money that any municipality can give a person that will help them erase feelings of shame, guilt, loss of respect, and embarrassment. How do you pay back those things? Or pay back someone’s reputation?When I first found ArchCity Defenders, I didn’t believe that other people had the same problems that I did. I didn’t believe that telling my story was important in such a racially-motivated, poverty-stricken St. Louis. But they inspired me in a way that moved me beyond my embarrassment into a sense of hoping and being able to believe that there is a possibility and a way to change things.
I found being a representative in the class action lawsuit against Normandy liberating, because it was a chance to show Normandy that they could have done things better. (And I imagine, they don’t want to have to pay this expense again in the future.) When I drive through that area in Normandy now, I feel a difference. I no longer see police sitting at the bottom of a hill or the middle of a hill or at tricky stop signs. I’ve been able to watch the slow and steady process of people’s lives changing for the better, and communities and friends — who were impacted much more than I was — feel vindicated, knowing it wasn’t their fault. The system was the problem.Being able to see the cogs turn slowly, because of the persistence of people who have stood up and challenged an exploitative status quo, gives me hope.I still don’t plan to drive through Maplewood, but I do believe change is possible. I see it happening. My advice is to trust your part in it.Coming soon: Riverfront Times Daily newsletter. We’ll send you a handful of interesting St. Louis stories every morning. Subscribe now to not miss a thing.Follow us: Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter

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Fenton Man Charged in Sword Attack on Roommate

Published

7 months ago

May 22, 2024

Natural Bridge

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A warrant is out for a Fenton man’s arrest after he allegedly attacked his roommate with a sword.

Police say that on Sunday, Angelus Scott spoke openly about “slicing his roommate’s head” before he grabbed a sword, raised it up and then swung it down at the roommate.

The roommate grabbed Scott’s hand in time to prevent injury. When police arrived at the scene, they found the weapon used in the assault.

The sword in question was a katana, which is a Japanese sword recognizable for its curved blade.

This isn’t the first time a samurai-style sword has been used to violent effect in St. Louis. In 2018, a man hearing voices slaughtered his ex-boyfriend with a samurai sword. His mother said he suffered from schizoaffective disorder.

As for Scott, 35, the St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office was charged yesterday with two felonies, assault first degree and armed criminal action. The warrant for his arrest says he is to be held on $200,000 bond.

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Caught on Video, Sheriff Says He’s Ready to ‘Turn It All Over’ to Deputy

Published

7 months ago

May 22, 2024

Natural Bridge

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Video of St. Louis Sheriff Vernon Betts taken by a former deputy suggests that the sheriff has a successor in mind to hand the reins of the department over to, even as Betts is in an increasingly heated campaign for reelection.

“I ain’t here for all this rigmarole,” Betts says in the video while seated behind his desk at the Carnahan Courthouse. “The Lord sent me here to turn this department around and I’m doing the best I can and I think I’ve done a good job. I’ve got about eight months and I’m going to qualify for my fourth pension.”

He goes on, “Right now I can walk up out of here and live happily ever after and forget about all this…and live like a king.”

The sheriff then says his wife has been in Atlanta looking at houses and that the other deputy in the room, Donald Hawkins, is someone Betts has been training “to turn it all over to him.”

Asked about the video, Betts tells the RFT, “My future plans are to win reelection on August 6th by a wide margin and to continue my mission as the top elected law enforcement official to make St. Louis safer and stronger. Serving the people of St. Louis with integrity, honor and professional law enforcement qualifications is a sacred responsibility, and I intend to complete that mission.”

The video of Betts was taken by Barbara Chavers, who retired from the sheriff’s office in 2016 after 24 years of service. Chavers now works security at Schnucks at Grand and Gravois. Betts’ brother Howard works security there, too.

Chavers tells the RFT that she was summoned to Betts’ office last week after Betts’ brother made the sheriff aware that she was supporting Montgomery. It was no secret: Chavers had filmed a Facebook live video in which she said she was supporting Betts’ opponent Alfred Montgomery in the election this fall. “Make the judges safe,” she says in the video, standing in front of a large Montgomery sign on Gravois Avenue. “They need a sheriff who is going to make their courtrooms safe.”

In his office, even as Chavers made clear she was filming him, Betts told Chavers he was “flabbergasted” and “stunned” she was supporting Montgomery.

“I don’t know what I did that would make you go against the preacher man,” he says, referring to himself. He then refers to Montgomery as “ungodly.”

Betts goes on to say that not long ago, he was walking in his neighborhood on St. Louis Avenue near 20th Street when suddenly Montgomery pulled up in his car and, according to Betts, shouted, “You motherfucker, you this, you that. You’re taking my signs down.”

Montgomery tells the RFT that he’s never interacted with Betts outside of candidate forums and neighborhood meetings.

“I don’t think anyone with good sense would do something like that to a sitting sheriff,” Montgomery says.

Montgomery has had campaign signs missing and on at least two occasions has obtained video of people tearing them down. (Chavers notes that the sign that she filmed her original Facebook video in front of is itself now missing.)

One man who lives near Columbus Square says that he recently put out two Montgomery signs, which later went missing. “If they keep taking them, I’ll keep putting them up,” he said.

Betts says he has nothing to do with the missing signs. In the video Chavers filmed in Betts’ office, Betts says that his campaign isn’t in a spot where it needs to resort to tearing down opponents’ signs.

“If you sit here long enough, a man is getting ready to come across the street from City Hall bringing me $500, today,” Betts says. “I’m getting that kind of support. I don’t need to tear down signs.”

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St. Louis to Develop First Citywide Transportation Plan in Decades

Published

7 months ago

May 21, 2024

Natural Bridge

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The City of St. Louis is working to develop its first citywide mobility plan in decades, Mayor Tishaura Jones’ office announced Tuesday. This plan seeks to make it easier for everyone — drivers, pedestrians, bikers and public transit users — to safely commute within the city.

The plan will bring together other city projects like the Brickline Greenway, Future64, the MetroLink Green Line, and more, “while establishing new priorities for a safer, more efficient and better-maintained transportation network across the City,” according to the release.

The key elements in the plan will be public engagement, the development of a safety action plan, future infrastructure priorities and transportation network mapping, according to Jones’ office.

The overarching goals are to create a vision for citywide mobility, plan a mixture of short and long-term mobility projects and to develop improved communication tools with the public to receive transportation updates. In recent years, both people who use public transit and cyclists have been outspoken about the difficulties — and dangers — of navigating St. Louis streets, citing both cuts to public transit and traffic violence.

To garner public input and participation for the plan, Jones’ office said there will be community meetings, focus groups and a survey for residents to share their concerns. The city will also be establishing a Community Advisory Committee. Those interested in learning more should check out at tmp-stl.com/

“Everyone deserves to feel safe when getting around St. Louis, whether they’re driving, biking, walking or taking public transit,” Jones said in a news release. “Creating a comprehensive transportation and mobility plan allows us to make intentional and strategic investments so that moving around St. Louis for jobs, education, and entertainment becomes easier, safer and more enjoyable.”

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