"A review of court records in Winston County shows criminal prosecutions over trash debt have spanned decades. The Southern Poverty Law Center says the practice is illegal and immoral."
"DOUBLE SPRINGS, Ala.—As 59-year-old Pam Benton sat handcuffed to a cold bench inside the Winston County Courthouse, shame flooded over her.
All she could think about, she later explained, was what her grandchildren may soon believe about their “nana.”
“Only bad people go to jail,” Benton told Inside Climate News. “That’s what a lot of kids think. They’ll think, ‘My nana’s a good granny, but she went to jail.’”
Benton spent hours handcuffed to the bench inside the courthouse earlier this year, waiting to be booked on a charge she said she never knew could lead to her arrest."
Lee Hedgepeth reports for Inside Climate News September 12, 2026.
