Patricia Spottedcrow received 12 years and $2,740 in fines in 2010 as a first-time offender for selling $31 worth of marijuana to an undercover informant, Reason reported in September 2019. She was released about two years later, but the fines were never dismissed and late fees accumulated.
Her bond was revoked in 2018 after she missed a probation report and admitted drinking a beer. She was arrested on September 9, 2019 and held until she paid $1,139.90 of the $3,569.76 owed. Donations cleared the debt and she was released on September 11, 2019. The article says the conviction made it hard to find work or stable housing.
Why it matters: A $31 sale led to a 12-year sentence, and years later unpaid court debt put her back in jail.
Source: Reason, 2019-09-16. Forgotten Prisoner's account is based on this reporting.