Resource: Huggins v. ABK Tracking

By:

August 30, 2022

equaljusticeunderlaw.org

Vanderburgh County, Indiana, in collaboration with a private, for-profit corporation known as ABK, charges exorbitant fees to people for drug and alcohol testing and electronic monitoring, and jails those who cannot pay, creating a modern-day debtors’ prison. On a handshake — with no written contract — Vanderburgh County Circuit Court Judge David Kiely has given ABK, which is run by Kiely’s friend Danny Koester, exclusive control over electronic monitoring and drug and alcohol testing for both pretrial and sentenced criminal defendants. This monopoly means that ABK is allowed to set and charge exorbitant fees and jail those who cannot afford its fees. The County pays nothing to ABK for its services; ABK profits by charging fees to every person it supervises. ABK then sends a portion of its profits back to Judge Kiely to pay for probation staff salaries and court expenses. The resulting debtors’ prison criminalizes poverty and damages public safety, all for the financial gain of the County and a private corporation.

https://equaljusticeunderlaw.org/huggins-v-abktracking