Kentucky Man Hit With $4,000 Bill After Spending Year In Jail On Charges That Were Dismissed

A spell in jail has seen a defendant from Clark County, Kentucky, billed for thousands of dollars for the costs of his living and food, a court has heard.

In accordance with Kentucky state law, jails are legally allowed to bill inmates for the costs of their time served – even if a person is not charged.

Besides the surprise $4,000 bill, it was made known that the $256 cash confiscated at the time of Jones’s arrest was also put towards the bill, which was unknown to anyone until now.

Watch some of the court footage below, as Jones’s lawyer argues against the absurdity of the bill:

It has raised not only ethical questions but has prompted a full-blown investigation into whether the law is even constitutional, with Kentucky’s Supreme Court now presiding over its constitutional integrity.

Despite all criminal charges having been dropped, the state’s bill for Jones was not. Gregory Belzley, the attorney representing Jones, says he is not liable to pay a penny because he was not found guilty of any crime.

‘You recognise the distinction in this case raised by the fundamental principle of the presumption of innocence. Defendants argue to you that this is punitive. This is punitive because he’s innocent,’ Belzley states.

Jeffrey Mando, the attorney for Clark County, says they should not held accountable because their jail does not pick who and who is not booked or found guilty, but said they still need the money to fund the running of the  jail and look after its inmates.

He says that Jones’s jailer is not seeking to pursue the remainder of the bill, while Belzley is determined that his client should not be paying anything at all and seeks the entire bill to be wiped.