PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A Pennsylvania mother of seven died
in a jail cell where she was serving a two-day sentence for her
children’s absence from school, drawing complaints from the judge that
sent her there about a broken system that punishes impoverished parents.
Eileen
DiNino, 55, of Reading, was found dead in a jail cell Saturday, halfway
through a 48-hour sentence that would have erased about $2,000 in fines
and court costs. The debt had accrued since 1999, and involved several
of her seven children, most recently her boys at a vocational high
school.
"Did something happen? Was she scared to death?" said
District Judge Dean R. Patton, who reluctantly sent DiNino to the Berks
County jail Friday after she failed to pay the debt for four years.
He
described her as "a lost soul," and questioned Pennsylvanian laws that
criminalize such lapses as truancy or failing to pay a trash bill.
"This lady didn’t need to be there," Patton said. "We don’t do debtors prisons anymore.
That went out 100 years ago."
Her death is not suspicious, but the cause has not yet been determined, police said.
More
than 1,600 people have been jailed in Berks County alone — two-thirds
of them women — over truancy fines since 2000, the Reading Eagle
reported Wednesday. Reading, the county seat, is about 60 miles
northwest of Philadelphia.
"What you see is kind of a slice of
inner-city life," said lawyer Richard Guida, who handled truancy cases,
including DiNino’s, as a Reading School District solicitor for more than
a decade. "The people home taking care of the children are mothers.
Many times, they’re overwhelmed, and some of these kids are no angels."
Language
barriers can also be an issue for letters and phone calls between the
parents and school, given that the vast majority of the city and school
population is Hispanic, he said.
The truancy fines themselves
might be $75 or less. However, the debt can add up over court costs and
fees. DiNino’s court file shows a laundry list of court fees for one
case alone: $8 for a "judicial computer project"; $60 for Berks County
constables; $10 for postage. And she had been cited dozens of times over
the years.
"The woman didn’t have any money," said Diana L.
Sealy, whose son married DiNino’s daughter. "Years ago, I tried helping
her out. She had all these kids."
Patton said he has lost sleep
over her death. At the same time, he acknowledged that a short jail
stint can sometimes "break the habit" of parents who’d rather party into
the night than take their children to school the next day. The county
started a program a few years ago that gives families 30 to 60 days to
keep daily logs of each class and assignment. He estimated that the
district truancy rate had dropped more than 30 percent.
DiNino did
not work or appear to have much help with four children still at home,
according to Patton. She frequently skipped hearings, or arrived without
requested documents.
"She cared about her kids, but her kids
ruled the roost," Patton said. "She was just accepting what was coming,
and (would) let the cards fall where they may."
Although she was
often unkempt, she came to court clean and neat to surrender Friday, he
said. She had on clean sweatpants, had combed her hair, and had tape
holding her glasses together.
"She was a different person. She was
cleaned up, smiling," Patton said. "I think she realized, when this is
done, the weight was off her shoulders."
Prison Warden Janine
Quigley referred the newspaper’s call to Berks County Commissioner Kevin
R. Barnhardt, chairman of the county prison board.
"This woman died in prison, away from her family," Barnhardt told the Reading Eagle. "And
for what?"