10,087

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in our Constitution since 1851 as a prohibition for

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putting people in jail or confinement because of death.

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In 1950 and 1962, there were amendments placed

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on that which provided, and it now reads, no person shall

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be imprisoned for debt, but a valid decree of a court of

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competent jurisdiction or agreement approved by the decree

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of that court for support of a wife or dependent children

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or for support of illegitimate child or children or for

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alimony shall not constitute debt within the meaning

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of this section.

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That was on the theory that if they did not

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comply with a court order to support minor children and wives

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that there they were not strictly speaking being confined

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for a debt .

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hey were being confined for a contempt of the

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court and for a failure to abide by a court order to comply

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with their duty to society, and this provision

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that we have given you is the identical language of Article

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III, Section'38 of our present Constitution, and we feel

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Now, there have beer decisions of the Maryland