Nine years ago, Patricia Spottedcrow was thrown into jail plus $2,740 in fines after being found guilty of selling $31 worth of marijuana. Since this was her first time being sentenced for this crime, she was let off after two years. However, last week, she was brought back to jail because she wasn't able to pay the fines she owed.
On September 9, the Oklahoma City police arrested her, with the state ordering that Spottedcrow be locked up until she could furnish $1,139.90 of the $3,569.76 she still owed. Meanwhile, she was hit with yet more fines with the new arrest, and they would accrue while she was in jail.
After her case was publicized, some strangers donated enough funds to wipe her slate clean. As she walked out of jail on September 11, she was completely free for the first time in nearly a decade.
(Image credit: Joel & Jasmin Forestbird/Unsplash)