Lawsuit calls Ferguson a 'modern debtors' prison'

A lawsuit filed Sunday alleges that Ferguson, Missouri, is operating a "modern debtors' prison."

Fifteen people filed class-action lawsuits against Ferguson and Jennings, Missouri. The lawsuits allege that Ferguson's court system has served as a cash cow for the city, forcing poor residents who couldn't pay fines for minor offenses, such as traffic violations, into jail.

"They were threatened, abused, and left to languish in confinement at the mercy of local officials until their frightened family members could produce enough cash to buy their freedom or until city jail officials decided, days or weeks later, to let them out for free," the complaint reads.

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The lawsuit claims that the plaintiffs were "kept in overcrowded cells" and were "denied toothbrushes, toothpaste, and soap." The suit also alleges that guards in Ferguson and Jennings "routinely laugh at the inmates and humiliate them with discriminatory and degrading epithets."

The lawsuits were filed by Equal Justice Under Law, a Washington-based nonprofit, the ArchCity defenders, a local nonprofit group, and the St. Louis University School of Law.