How jails extort the poor | Salil Dudani

譯者: Winston Szeto 審譯者: Wilde Luo

One summer afternoon in 2013,

2013 年夏天的一個下午，

DC police detained, questioned and searched a man

華盛頓警察以某男子面目可疑、

who appeared suspicious and potentially dangerous.

可能是危險分子為由 而予以拘留、問話、搜身。

This wasn't what I was wearing the day of the detention, to be fair,

我被拘留時並非穿着這件衣服，

but I have a picture of that as well.

但當時穿的衣服我也有拍照。

I know it's very frightening -- try to remain calm.

我知道這件衣服有點刺激眼睛—— 拜託你們還是冷靜一下吧。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

At this time, I was interning

當時我在華盛頓

at the Public Defender Service in Washington DC,

「公設辯護律師服務」見習，

and I was visiting a police station for work.

因工作關係到訪一間警局。

I was on my way out,

當我正在離開、

and before I could make it to my car,

還未走到我的車前，

two police cars pulled up to block my exit,

就被兩輛警車上前堵住去路，

and an officer approached me from behind.

其中一名警員從後向我靠近。

He told me to stop, take my backpack off

他叫我停下、放下背包、

and put my hands on the police car parked next to us.

把雙手放在停在旁邊的警車。

About a dozen officers then gathered near us.

隨後多名警員圍着我們，

All of them had handguns,

他們每一名都荷槍，

some had assault rifles.

甚至突擊步槍。

They rifled through my backpack.

他們搜查我的背包，

They patted me down.

搜身，

They took pictures of me spread on the police car,

拍下我趴在警車上的照片，

and they laughed.

然後放聲大笑。

And as all this was happening --

當這一切都在進行時——

as I was on the police car trying to ignore the shaking in my legs,

我在警車旁試着不理會 自己發抖的雙腿，

trying to think clearly about what I should do --

並細心思考我應該如何做時——

something stuck out to me as odd.

我發現了一些怪事。

When I look at myself in this photo,

當我望着這幅照片時，

if I were to describe myself,

若要我形容自己，

I think I'd say something like,

我會說：

"19-year-old Indian male, bright T-shirt, wearing glasses."

「 19 歲印度裔男性， 鮮色汗衫、架着眼鏡。」

But they weren't including any of these details.

但警察們並沒有記錄這些明細。

Into their police radios as they described me,

他們在對講機上形容我時，

they kept saying, "Middle Eastern male with a backpack.

不停說：「帶着背包的中東裔男子。

Middle Eastern male with a backpack."

帶着背包的中東裔男子。」

And this description carried on into their police reports.

這些內容都記錄在警察報告上。

I never expected to be described by my own government in these terms:

我從來沒想過自己的 政府用這些字眼形容我：

"lurking,"

「鬼鬼崇崇」、

"nefarious,"

「心術不正」、

"terrorist."

「恐怖分子」。

And the detention dragged on like this.

拘留過程不停重覆這些動作：

They sent dogs trained to smell explosives to sweep the area I'd been in.

他們把受過嗅辨爆炸品訓練的警犬 帶過來掃視我踏足的地方，

They called the federal government to see if I was on any watch lists.

他們詢問聯邦政府 我是否在監視名單，

They sent a couple of detectives to cross-examine me on why,

他們派數名探員盤問我：

if I claimed I had nothing to hide,

既然我聲稱自己沒有任何隱瞞，

I wouldn't consent to a search of my car.

那為何不允許他們搜查我的車？

And I could see they weren't happy with me,

我感覺到他們對我不滿，

but I felt I had no way of knowing what they'd want to do next.

但我無從知道他們 下一步要我做甚麼。

At one point, the officer who patted me down

那個把我搜身的警員甚至

scanned the side of the police station to see where the security camera was

查看警局旁哪裡有保安攝錄器，

to see how much of this was being recorded.

以知道他們對我做的事 有多少被錄下來。

And when he did that,

當他這樣做時，

it really sank in how completely I was at their mercy.

我終於明白：人為刀俎，我為魚肉。

I think we're all normalized from a young age

相信我們自小都習慣了

to the idea of police officers and arrests and handcuffs,

警員用手鐐逮捕疑犯，

so it's easy to forget how demeaning and coercive a thing it is

所以他們要控制別人身體時，

to seize control over another person's body.

我們不覺得這是侮辱。

I know it sounds like the point of my story

大家或會覺得我只不過想說

is how badly treated I was because of my race --

我都是因為種族身分 而被粗暴對待——

and yes, I don't think I would've been detained if I were white.

如果我是白人，一定不會被拘留。

But actually, what I have in mind today is something else.

但我現在想到另一樣東西：

What I have in mind is how much worse things might've been

如果我不是家境富裕的話，

if I weren't affluent.

我的遭遇或會更差。

I mean, they thought I might be trying to plant an explosive,

他們以為我埋下爆炸品，

and they investigated that possibility for an hour and a half,

因而花了一小時半進行調查，

but I was never put in handcuffs,

但我從沒被扣上手鐐，

I was never taken to a jail cell.

也從沒被帶進牢房。

I think if I were from one of Washington DC's poor communities of color,

如果我是華盛頓貧窮 有色人種社區的一員，

and they thought I was endangering officers' lives,

而且警員認為我危害他們性命安全，

things might've ended differently.

事情發展可能完全不一樣。

And in fact, in our system, I think it's better to be an affluent person

在這制度下，作為一個富裕人士

suspected of trying to blow up a police station

被懷疑引爆警局，

than it is to be a poor person

總比作為一個窮人好過，

who's suspected of much, much less than this.

富人被懷疑程度遠比窮人低。

I want to give you an example from my current work.

讓我從目前的工作舉個例子說明。

Right now, I'm working at a civil rights organization in DC,

目前我任職於華盛頓的民權組織，

called Equal Justice Under Law.

它叫做「法律之下司法平等」。

Let me start by asking you all a question.

首先讓我問大家一條問題：

How many of you have ever gotten a parking ticket in your life?

有誰曾經收過違規停車罰單？

Raise your hand.

請舉手。

Yeah. So have I.

我也收過。

And when I had to pay it,

我要繳交罰款時，

it felt annoying and it felt bad,

覺得這實在討厭，感覺糟透，

but I paid it and I moved on.

但我最後都繳交了事。

I'm guessing most of you have paid your tickets as well.

相信在座大部分人都曾繳交罰款。

But what would happen if you couldn't afford the amount on the ticket

但若各位無力負擔罰款、

and your family doesn't have the money either, what happens then?

家人也無力負擔罰款會怎辦﹖

Well, one thing that's not supposed to happen under the law is,

法律下不能容許發生的事之一，

you're not supposed to be arrested and jailed

就是不能因為無力繳交罰款

simply because you can't afford to pay.

就被逮捕和囚禁。

That's illegal under federal law.

這是違反聯邦法律的，

But that's what local governments across the country are doing

然而全國的地方政府都對窮人

to people who are poor.

進行這種違法的事。

And so many of our lawsuits at Equal Justice Under Law

「法律之下司法平等」 處理的很多訴訟，

target these modern-day debtors' prisons.

都是針對現代版「欠債人牢獄」。

One of our cases is against Ferguson, Missouri.

其中一單訴訟是針對 密蘇里州佛格遜政府。

And I know when I say Ferguson,

當我提到佛格遜這名字，

many of you will think of police violence.

大家或會聯想起警察暴力事件。

But today I want to talk about a different aspect

但我今天要從另一角度

of the relationship between their police force and their citizens.

談警民關係。

Ferguson was issuing an average of over two arrest warrants,

佛格遜政府每年平均向每人發出

per person, per year,

超過兩項逮捕令，

mostly for unpaid debt to the courts.

大部分都是為法院追討欠債。

When I imagine what that would feel like if, every time I left my house,

當我想起如果每次我離開住所後，

there was a chance a police officer would run my license plate,

我或被警員根據車牌號碼翻查資料，

see a warrant for unpaid debt,

以欠債為由發出逮捕令、

seize my body they way the did in DC

就像在華盛頓時把我的身體按下、

and then take me to a jail cell,

然後把我送進牢房時，

I feel a little sick.

我就會渾身不自在。

I've met many of the people in Ferguson who have experienced this,

我在佛格遜遇過有這些經歷的人，

and I've heard some of their stories.

也聽過他們的親身經歷。

In Ferguson's jail,

在佛格遜的監獄，

in each small cell, there's a bunk bed and a toilet,

每個小牢房都有 一張雙層床和一個馬桶，

but they'd pack four people into each cell.

但每個牢房卻擠著四個人。

So there'd be two people on the bunks and two people on the floor,

兩人睡在床上，兩人睡地板，

one with nowhere to go except right next to the filthy toilet,

骯髒的馬桶就在咫尺，

which was never cleaned.

從來沒有清潔過。

In fact, the whole cell was never cleaned,

其實整個牢房都沒有清潔過，

so the floor and the walls were lined with blood and mucus.

地板和牆上滿是血跡和粘液。

No water to drink,

沒有任何飲用水，

except coming out of a spigot connected to the toilet.

只有來自馬桶的水。

The water looked and tasted dirty,

馬桶水看上去很骯髒， 其味道也是如此，

there was never enough food,

從來沒有足夠食物，

never any showers,

從來沒有機會淋浴，

women menstruating without any hygiene products,

女士月經時沒有衞生用品可用，

no medical attention whatsoever.

得不到任何醫療協助。

When I asked a woman about medical attention,

當我問她們其中一位 有否得到醫療協助時，

she laughed, and she said, "Oh, no, no.

她失笑並說：「當然沒有。

The only attention you get from the guards in there is sexual."

獄卒反而只有興趣跟我們性交。」

So, they'd take the debtors to this place and they'd say,

他們只把欠債人帶進監獄並說：

"We're not letting you leave until you make a payment on your debt."

「未能還清債務就休想離開。」

And if you could -- if you could call a family member

如果你可以致電家人求助、

who could somehow come up with some money,

叫他們給你一點錢的話，

then maybe you were out.

你就可以離開。

If it was enough money, you were out.

錢足夠的話，你才可以走。

But if it wasn't, you'd stay there for days or weeks,

錢不夠的話就要在這裡多呆幾天，

and every day the guards would come down to the cells

每天獄卒就會來到牢房，

and haggle with the debtors about the price of release that day.

跟欠債人爭辯交多少錢才可以離開。

You'd stay until, at some point, the jail would be booked to capacity,

監獄總會有滿額的一天，

and they'd want to book someone new in.

他們要帶新人進來時，

And at that point, they'd think,

就會這樣考慮：

"OK, it's unlikely this person can come up with the money,

「這個人怕是還不起錢了，

反而新人更有可能還錢。」

it's more likely this new person will."

舊人出新人入，系統就是這樣運作。

You're out, they're in, and the machine kept moving like that.

I met a man who,

我曾經見過

nine years ago, was arrested for panhandling in a Walgreens.

一位九年前因在藥房 行乞而被捕的男子。

He couldn't afford his fines and his court fees from that case.

他無力繳付罰款和訴訟堂費。

When he was young he survived a house fire,

他年輕時在家居火災生還，

only because he jumped out of the third-story window to escape.

但只因為他是從三樓窗戶躍下逃生。

But that fall left him with damage to his brain

這一跳令他腦部

and several parts of this body, including his leg.

以及大腿等身體部位受損。

So he can't work,

因此他無法工作，

and he relies on social security payments to survive.

需要依靠社會保障金過活。

When I met him in his apartment,

當我探訪他的寓所時，

he had nothing of value there -- not even food in his fridge.

他身無分文，冰箱連食物也沒有。

他長期挨餓。

He's chronically hungry.

他家徒四壁，只有一小塊紙板，

He had nothing of value in his apartment except a small piece of cardboard

on which he'd written the names of his children.

上面寫着他孩子的名字。

He cherished this a lot. He was happy to show it to me.

他珍而重之、很樂意的給我看。

But he can't pay his fines and fees because he has nothing to give.

他身無分文而無力繳付罰款和規費。

In the last nine years, he's been arrested 13 times,

九年來他被逮捕 13 次，

and jailed for a total of 130 days on that panhandling case.

因那次行乞就被監禁共 130 天。

One of those stretches lasted 45 days.

有一次他更被連續囚禁 45 天。

Just imagine spending from right now until sometime in June

試想像一下由現在直至六月

in the place that I described to you a few moments ago.

待在我剛才形容的地方。

He told me about all the suicide attempts he's seen in Ferguson's jail;

他告訴我佛格遜監獄中 很多人企圖自殺；

about the time a man found a way to hang himself

一名男子去其他囚犯到不了的地方

out of reach of the other inmates,

試圖吊頸自盡，

so all they could do was yell and yell and yell,

他們可做的只是拼命叫喊，

trying to get the guards' attention

試圖引起獄卒的注意，

so they could come down and cut him down.

希望獄卒趕過來把他救回來。

And he told me that it took the guards over five minutes to respond,

他說獄卒五分鐘後才回應，

and when they came, the man was unconscious.

當他們來到時那人已經不省人事。

So they called the paramedics and the paramedics went to the cell.

獄卒電召醫療輔助人員， 醫護來到時，

They said, "He'll be OK,"

就說：「他沒事的。」

so they just left him there on the floor.

他們就任由那人躺在地上。

I heard many stories like this and they shouldn't have surprised me,

這些故事我聽過多遍，我不感驚訝，

because suicide is the single leading cause of death in our local jails.

因為自殺是地區監獄中 囚犯的首要死因。

This is related to the lack of mental health care in our jails.

這跟監獄中缺乏精神健康協助有關。

I met a woman, single mother of three, making seven dollars an hour.

我見過一名三子之母， 她時薪七美元，

She relies on food stamps to feed herself and her children.

她和孩子都要靠食物配給券過活。

About a decade ago,

大約十年前，

she got a couple of traffic tickets and a minor theft charge,

她收到幾張交通違規罰單 和被控小型盜竊，

and she can't afford her fines and fees on those cases.

但無力繳付罰款和訴訟堂費。

Since then, she's been jailed about 10 times on those cases,

因此她在往後被監禁約十次，

but she has schizophrenia and bipolar disorder,

然而她患上精神分裂症 和狂躁抑鬱症，

and she needs medication every day.

需要每天服藥。

She doesn't have access to those medications in Ferguson's jail,

她在佛格遜監獄得不到藥物服用，

because no one has access to their medications.

因為所有囚犯都得不到藥物服用。

She told me about what it was like to spend two weeks in a cage,

她告訴我待在牢房那兩星期間

hallucinating people and shadows and hearing voices,

幻覺到身邊有人、影和聲音等等，

begging for the medication that would make it all stop,

哀求獄方提供藥物以消除幻覺，

only to be ignored.

卻無人理會。

And this isn't anomalous, either:

這卻並非特例：

thirty percent of women in our local jails have serious mental health needs

地區監獄有三成女囚犯 極需要精神健康協助，

just like hers,

就像她一樣，

but only one in six receives any mental health care while in jail.

但只有六分之一的人 在獄中得到精神協助。

And so, I heard all these stories about this grotesque dungeon

佛格遜監獄為欠債人 設置荒唐的地牢，

that Ferguson was operating for its debtors,

那些駭人傳聞我全都聽過，

and when it came time for me to actually see it

但當我有機會到訪佛格遜監獄

and to go visit Ferguson's jail,

去親眼目睹那些囚牢，

I'm not sure what I was expecting to see,

我不清楚會看到些甚麼，

but I wasn't expecting this.

但我意料不到會見到這情景。

It's an ordinary government building.

監獄看來就像普通政府辦公大樓，

It could be a post office or a school.

看來像郵局或學校。

It reminded me that these illegal extortion schemes

這提醒我一切違法的敲詐勾當

aren't being run somewhere in the shadows,

都不是在暗黑中進行，

they're being run out in the open by our public officials.

而是由官員們在光天化日下進行。

They're a matter of public policy.

這些勾當攸關公共政策。

And this reminded me that poverty jailing in general,

這也提醒我，因貧窮而受牢獄——

even outside the debtors' prison context,

即使撇除欠債人牢獄的情況——

plays a very visible and central role in our justice system.

在司法制度內的角色也舉足輕重。

What I have in mind is our policy of bail.

我想到的就是保釋制度。

In our system, whether you're detained or free,

在這制度中，被拘留或獲釋放，

pending trial is not a matter of how dangerous you are

並非視乎當事人有多大危險性

or how much of a flight risk you pose.

或者有多大機會潛逃，

It's a matter of whether you can afford to post your bail amount.

而是視乎當事人能否負擔保釋金。

So Bill Cosby, whose bail was set at a million dollars,

演員比爾 · 科斯比的保釋金 高達百萬美元，

immediately writes the check, and doesn't spend a second in a jail cell.

他立即以支票交款就絲毫不用坐牢。

But Sandra Bland, who died in jail,

但死在獄中的桑德拉 · 布蘭德，

was only there because her family was unable to come up with 500 dollars.

她只因家人交不出 500 元就被監禁。

In fact, there are half a million Sandra Blands across the country --

其實全國有 50 萬 像布蘭德一樣的人——

500,000 people who are in jail right now,

現在之所以要待在監獄，

only because they can't afford their bail amount.

只是因為無力繳納保釋金。

We're told that our jails are places for criminals,

常言道，監獄是罪犯的地方，

but statistically that's not the case:

但統計上這並非事實：

three out of every five people in jail right now are there pretrial.

五分之三的在囚人士是還未審訊的。

They haven't been convicted of any crime;

他們還沒有被控犯下任何罪行，

they haven't pled guilty to any offense.

也沒有認任何罪。

Right here in San Francisco,

在三藩市這裡，

85 percent of the inmates in our jail in San Francisco

在囚人士中有 85%

are pretrial detainees.

還未經審訊而被拘留。

This means San Francisco is spending something like 80 million dollars

這意味三藩市每年花費大約

every year

8,000 萬元

to fund pretrial detention.

囚禁還未經審訊的被拘留人士。

Many of these people who are in jail only because they can't post bail

很多人坐牢只因負擔不起保釋金；

are facing allegations so minor

針對他們的指控雖然輕微，

that the amount of time it would take for them to sit waiting for trial

但他們坐牢等待審訊的時間，

is longer than the sentence they would receive if convicted,

比起定罪後的判監時間還要長，

which means they're guaranteed to get out faster

所以他們乾脆認罪的話

if they just plead guilty.

反可更早被釋放。

So now the choice is:

他們面對這樣的抉擇：

Should I stay here in this horrible place,

我應否待在這鬼地方，

away from my family and my dependents,

在不能和家人孩子一起、

almost guaranteed to lose my job,

一定會丟了工作的情況下，

and then fight the charges?

反駁指控？

Or should I just plead guilty to whatever the prosecutor wants and get out?

或是應否任由檢察官定罪， 乾脆認罪早日獲釋？

And at this point, they're pretrial detainees, not criminals.

這時，他們還只是未經審訊的 被拘留人士而非罪犯，

他們一認罪就被稱為罪犯，

But once they take that plea deal, we'll call them criminals,

然而富裕人士不會落得如此下場，

even though an affluent person would never have been in this situation,

因為他們有錢給自己保釋。

because an affluent person would have simply been bailed out.

At this point you might be wondering,

大家這時候或會問：

"This guy's in the inspiration section, what is he doing --

「這可是給人以鼓舞的舞臺啊， 這傢伙究竟在講甚麼——

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

"This is extremely depressing. I want my money back."

演講令人沮喪，我要退錢。」

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

But in actuality,

但事實上，

I find talking about jailing much less depressing than the alternative,

我認為牢獄反而比其他課題 沒那麼令人沮喪，

because I think if we don't talk about these issues

因為如果我們不去討論這些課題、

and collectively change how we think about jailing,

使公眾集體改變對牢獄的看法，

at the end of all of our lives,

到我們臨終時，

we'll still have jails full of poor people who don't belong there.

獄中還會滿是不應被囚禁的窮人。

That really is depressing to me.

這些情景的確令我沮喪，

But what's exciting to me is the thought that these stories can move us

但令我鼓舞的是 這些獄中見聞能打動人心，

to think about jailing in different terms.

使我們從另一角度看牢獄問題。

Not in sterile policy terms like "mass incarceration,"

不是以「集體囚禁」或者 「監禁非暴力罪犯」

or "sentencing of nonviolent offenders,"

這些冷漠的術語探討問題，

but in human terms.

而是從人性角度探討。

When we put a human being in a cage for days or weeks or months

當我們把一個人困在牢中 數天、數星期、數個月

or even years,

甚至數年，

what are we doing to that person's mind and body?

這對他的身心有何影響？

Under what conditions are we really willing to do that?

我們真的要這樣對待一個人嗎？

And so if starting with a few hundred of us in this room,

如果在座的數百名觀眾

we can commit to thinking about jailing in this different light,

決心從另一角度思考牢獄問題，

then we can undo that normalization I was referring to earlier.

就可消弭我早前說的習以為常。

If I leave you with anything today, I hope it's with the thought

若要我說希望各位在 這演講後記住甚麼，

that if we want anything to fundamentally change --

希望大家明白若要作出徹底改變—

not just to reform our policies on bail and fines and fees --

不只是改革保釋、罰款和規費制度—

but also to make sure that whatever new policies replace those

必須確保替代的新制度

don't punish the poor and the marginalized in their own new way.

不會懲罰貧窮和社會邊緣人士。

If we want that kind of change,

我們若要改變現狀，

then this shift in thinking is required of each of us.

我們的思維必須有所轉變。

Thank you.

多謝大家。

(Applause)

（鼓掌聲）