Debtors' prisons were created as places to imprison individuals unable to pay back debts, either in the civil sphere or of taxes. Debtors' prisons were notorious for being cruel and unpleasant, with grueling amounts of work to do in labor camps. Many were opposed to the concept of imprisonment as a punishment for bankruptcy, and Kentucky was the first state to legally abolish the practice.
The Fourteenth Amendment, written in 1868 after the Civil War in order to protect the rights of the newly freed African Americans, now legally prohibits the creation and use of debtors' prisons, making Kentucky 47 years early in enacting this kind of legislation
-Joanna Slusarewicz
http://www.historyorb.com/countries/usa/kentucky
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debtors'_prison
http://carterandcarterlaw.com/2013/12/debtors-prison-abolished/
https://www.aclu.org/ending-modern-day-debtors-prisons
The Fourteenth Amendment, written in 1868 after the Civil War in order to protect the rights of the newly freed African Americans, now legally prohibits the creation and use of debtors' prisons, making Kentucky 47 years early in enacting this kind of legislation
-Joanna Slusarewicz
http://www.historyorb.com/countries/usa/kentucky
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debtors'_prison
http://carterandcarterlaw.com/2013/12/debtors-prison-abolished/
https://www.aclu.org/ending-modern-day-debtors-prisons