• TechyDad@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    Also, it’s important to remember that jail =/= prison.

    Jail is where you go while awaiting trial. Prison is where you go after you’re convicted.

    I’m pretty confident that I’ll never do anything serious enough to be sent to prison for. However, it’s plausible that I could be arrested for some alleged crime, held in jail for months pending trial, and then released (either after trial or when the charges were dropped).

    Those months in jail would mean that I’d likely get laid off from my job and my family would need to burn through our savings. Plus, depending on how high profile the arrest is, everyone might think I was guilty no matter the outcome and refuse to hire me to another job.

    The mere action of arresting someone and then dropping the charges can completely ruin someone’s life.

    I wouldn’t say it’s in my top 10 worries, but it’s definitely there.