About the Lab

Captive Money Lab expands public understanding of pay-to-stay

We are a collective of scholars focused on uncovering the varied ways in which states extract financial and material resources from incarcerated people, their families, and communities in the United States. Through academic, policy, and creative efforts, we hope to shed light on these practices and their impacts.

What We Are Working On

Captive Money Lab is a public-facing research lab spearheading the innovation of research, policy, and advocacy that concerns the political economy of punishment and the resulting impact on inequality in the United States. The flagship work of the lab is the study of pay-to-stay fees. Our current research explores the contemporary and historical landscape of prison pay-to-stay statutes, policies, and collection.

We are also engaged in several creative efforts through our media and storytelling initiative, Exploitation Nation, which aims to expose the social and economic underpinnings of captivity and the hidden costs of state power. It expands the mission of our research lab outward through creativity and narrative.

Co-Founders and Principal Investigators