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Our 14-month-long investigation into these modern-day debtors prisons exposes how Mississippi locks people into prison-like work camps to pay off fees and restitution to victims from felony convictions. The inmates are placed into low-wage, sometimes dangerous jobs, while Mississippi Department of Corrections handles their paychecks, taking the first cut in “room and board” and transportation costs.

Some people spent years earning their freedom.

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This investigation was published in partnership with The Marshall Project, the USA TODAY-Network, the Jackson Clarion-Ledger and the Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting. The Marshall Project is a nonprofit news organization covering the U.S. criminal justice system; sign up for The Marshall Project’s newsletters, or follow them on Facebook or Twitter.

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The tip we got at Mississippi Today seemed a little unlikely: a woman in state prison was also working at McDonald’s — and not voluntarily. But sure enough, we found her. Then we found hundreds like her because of the state’s restitution center program.

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