In March 2020, Congress passed a $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief package to help struggling Americans, including Americans behind bars. In June, checks were sent to millions of Americans. Hundreds of thousands of those stimulus dollars went to inmates across the country, then the IRS tried taking that money back.
In December, Christopher Blackwell, an inmate at the Washington State Reformatory, told Business Insider that inmates were threatened with criminal charges unless they immediately returned the stimulus money.
In Washington alone, the IRS snatched $23,000 intended to go to inmates, but there is a catch, a federal court ruled the IRS had no legal basis to exclude prison and jail inmates from receiving the COVID-19 stimulus money.
For many inmates, the money helped support their families outside of prison.
Despite the IRS trying to block payments to inmates, those who are behind bars are eligible will receive the highly anticipated third stimulus check, which is expected to pass through congress on February 8.
