The ACLU of Delaware and the Delaware Campaign to End Debtors' Prisons teamed up this week to examine the cycle of fines and fees that many people arrested for misdemeanors struggle to escape.

In a virtual webinar held Wednesday night, a panel discussed changes the state, which has the highest per capita misdemeanor arrest rate in the country, could make to keep Delawareans from getting trapped in a system of fees that becomes increasingly more difficult to resolve.

"Imposing fines and fees on those who are unable to pay has created a de facto debtors' prison in Delaware," said Meryem Dede, co-president of Network Delaware's Campaign to End Debtors' Prisons. "These practices harm our communities and trap residents in a destructive cycle of poverty—and the sole purpose of fines and fees isn't to be a deterrent for crime, it's to fund our government."

It's a common misconception, according to the Campaign to End Debtors' Prisons, that fines and fees imposed by courts go toward restitution to victims of crime. The two are separate, and it's not uncommon for someone who uses a public defender to have to pay over $500 in fees by the time their case is resolved, which goes to the state government.

Instead of being a deterrent to crime, the campaign says, burdening people with punishments for not paying fines they can't realistically afford only reinforces poverty and creates a likelihood of more crime.

The event, sponsored by the ACLU's Amicus Society, noted several ways the burden of fees on Delawareans can be mitigated. That could include doing away with the practices of suspending the driver's license of a person who hasn't paid a fine and fining children altogether.

It was also recommended Delaware's courts, law enforcement agencies and municipalities be required to disclose how much of their budget is funded by those fees and that courts take into account a person's financial situation and ability to pay when determining what fines should be imposed.

"Imprisoning someone because they cannot afford to pay court-imposed fines or fees violates the Fourteenth Amendment promises of due process and equal protection under the law. Modern-day debtors' prisons are illegal," said Mike Brickner, executive director of the ACLU of Delaware.