Our bail system is broken. The US justice system is supposed to treat people equally, but over 450K people sit in jail awaiting sentencing – even for minor crimes – and many because they cannot afford bail. This accounts for 95% of the US prison population growth.
Our current bail system sets certain ranges of bail for types of crimes and judges have discretion on the range to apply. The poor often cannot even afford the lowest levels of bail, forcing them to remain in jail, which can be anywhere from several days to many months. The result – lost jobs; housing and child custody and higher exposure to criminal behaviors. At the same time, those who can afford bail, get to continue their normal lives, regardless of the risk that they pose to committing new crimes while they are out.
The cost to American taxpayers is enormous. We currently pay $38M every day to hold people in prison before their trials. While not all of this can be eliminated, it is expected that a large savings can be seen by revising our bail system.
Congress is currently reviewing the Pretrial Integrity and Safety Act, which proposes changes to the system that provide a personalized review of bail based on risk level
Exposing the hypocrisy of inequality 