[btilly]

True. If you win your case, the taxpayer no longer pays. Lots of places have those pay to stay laws.

But if your case has not been officially lost, you can't be set to forced labor either.

(Of course our BS system in many places still charges exonerees after the fact despite the fact that it was a wrongful conviction.)

[qingcharles]

Sadly, you can even be set to forced labor even if you're unconvicted, based on SCOTUS case law. A jail can legally force you to perform "housekeeping chores" to maintain the facility.