Peonage Not Authorized by Article; Denial of Benefits Because of Poverty Prohibited

1. Law
2. Georgia Code
3. Criminal Procedure
4. Restitution and Distribution of Profits to Victims of Crimes
5. Restitution
6. Peonage Not Authorized by Article; Denial of Benefits Because of Poverty Prohibited

1. Nothing in this article shall authorize peonage; and this article shall be construed and diligently administered to prevent peonage.
2. No offender shall be denied any benefit, relief, or privilege to which he or she might otherwise be entitled or eligible solely because he or she is financially unable and cannot become financially able to make restitution.

(Code 1933, § 27-3016, enacted by Ga. L. 1980, p. 1382, § 1; Ga. L. 2005, p. 88, § 5/HB 172.)

Editor's notes.

- Ga. L. 2005, p. 88, § 1/HB 172, not codified by the General Assembly, provides that: "This Act shall be known and may be cited as the 'Crime Victims Restitution Act of 2005.'"

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Refusal of plea bargain upon inability to make restitution.

- State's refusal to recommend acceptance of the plea bargain because the defendant could not make the agreed-upon initial restitution payment of $5,000, and the trial court's refusal to accept the plea, did not deny the defendant equal protection or violate O.C.G.A. § 17-14-15. Nash v. State, 179 Ga. App. 702, 347 S.E.2d 651 (1986).

Sentence requiring defendant to pay restitution while incarcerated held illegal.

- Because that part of a sentence requiring the defendant to pay restitution while incarcerated and pay specific and substantial amounts of restitution both before the commencement of the prison sentence and while on probation was illegal, that portion was vacated, and the defendant's acquiescence to the sentence, either through plea negotiations or a failure to object to the sentence, did not remove the illegality. Sumner v. State, 284 Ga. App. 308, 643 S.E.2d 831 (2007).

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