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美国亚利桑那州自今年7月20日起实行一项新规，要求到州立监狱探视亲友的人每次缴纳25美元的背景审查费，并称收取费用是为了保障囚犯的安全，同时还会用于十所州立监狱的维护。据悉，到州立监狱探视的申请需要提前60天，25美元背景审查费一旦收取概不退还。不过，新规实施前已经获准探视者、未满18岁者、囚犯的养父母以及只申请电话探视者均无需缴纳此项费用。美国一个监狱改革组织为此对该州监狱系统提起诉讼，称此项收费违反宪法，增加了普通民众的负担。也有人担心，这项规定可能会减少探视者的数量和探视次数，从而使犯人与亲友之间日益疏远，不利于犯人的改造。 PJ Longoni has shelled out hundreds of dollars to pay for toiletries, a television and legal fees for family and friends locked up in Arizona prisons. When she learned she’d have to pay a one-time $25 background check fee to visit her son, she was angry. Under a new state law, some adults who want to visit incarcerated inmates must pay the fee, with the money raised going toward maintaining 10 state-run prisons. “For me, it is not the $25 fee that is an issue,” she said. “It is when it is combined with the other costs of caring for an inmate, then it becomes a burden to me.” A prison reform group sued the corrections department, saying the fee was arbitrary, unconstitutional and amounted to a tax on an already vulnerable segment of residents. Corrections officials say the fees will ensure inmates are safe. | 
