Portside

Led by people directly impacted by imprisonment, organizations in California have been building on the growing national momentum to end the money bail system.

On February 21st, the District Attorney's Office announced the initial phase of their bail reform efforts in Philadelphia. Across the country momentum is building and cities, municipalities and states are ending cash bail.

Carter, known as Jay Z, is a lauded recording artist, philanthropist and father: "When black and brown people are over-policed and arrested and accused of crimes at higher rates than others, and then forced to pay for their freedom before they ever see trial, big bail companies prosper. This pre-incarceration conundrum is devastating to families."

The county’s lawyer defended this policy by arguing that poor defendants — who are disproportionately black and Latino — stay in jail not because they can’t buy their way out but because they “want” to be there, especially “if it’s a cold week.” Judge Rosenthal called this despicable claim “uncomfortably reminiscent of the historical argument that used to be made that people enjoyed slavery.”

The bail system affects the poor disproportionately, and the legal outcomes for those who await trial behind bars are much worse than the outcomes for those who don't. The work of Pretrial Services Agency shows that alternatives to bail exist.

This is a national problem. Across the United States, most of the people incarcerated in local jails have not been convicted of a crime but are awaiting trial. And most of those are waiting in jail not because of any specific risk they have been deemed to pose, but because they can’t pay their bail. In other words, we are locking people up for being poor. This is unjust. We should abolish monetary bail outright.