OUR BAIL BOND SYSTEM IS BROKEN
OUR BAIL BOND SYSTEM IS BROKEN:
Throwing out an idea for our little community.
The more I research the bond system,
the more I realize how absolutely broken and unjust it is.
•Did you know that America is one of the few industrialized nations with a For-Profit Bail Bond system? It is outlawed in most the rest of the world.
•Did you also know that most legal institutions in America, the American Bar Association and the National District Attorneys Association, is against our current bond system.
Why?
One simple reason:
it absolutely discriminates against the poor
Here is what happens as I understand it. Someone is taken to jail to await trial for a suspected crime - innocent until proven guilty. If they are unable to make bail because they can't afford it, they sit in jail for months waiting for trial because the system is so backlogged. During this time they run the risk of losing custody of their children, their homes or apts, their jobs, their transportation.
Poor folks run the risk of losing everything. They sometimes plead guilty to crimes they didn't commit or take plea deals that are harsher than normal to get out. Now they have a criminal record which follows them for life. They are not allowed to be out of jail during their trial to help their legal team collect the necessary evidence to prove their innocence.
The more affluent and wealthy pay whatever they need. They hire better legal teams. They collect the evidence. They fight the charges getting them reduced or dismissed.
One lawyer I listened to said that poor folks come to them and say "do whatever it takes to get me out" while wealthier folks say "let's fight this." The system forces some people, because of finances, to make desperate and hasty decisions in the short-term that negatively impact in the long-run simply over a matter finances. That's not freedom. That's not the land of the free. That's not the country we know and love.
I love this country. I love that we are guaranteed a fair trial by a jury of our peers relatively free from corruption. But the system is backlogged and jammed - an in many places it is absolutely broken. People wait months and months for a trial - losing important aspects of their lives they tried so hard to create.
What can we do?
•I don't know yet, but I got an idea.
•More and more states are banning for-profit bail bonds (Illinois, Kentucky, Oregon and Wisconsin). More research into other systems will go along way. Look for ways to resist, protest, and have laws changed.
• CA Senator Kamala Harris as teamed up bi-partisanly with Rand Paul to address this issue: https://www.mercurynews.com/…/kamala-harris-bail-reform-ra…/
*ONE IDEA I LOVE SO MUCH*:
COMMUNITY BAIL BOND FUNDING
Look at what Brooklyn is doing: https://brooklynbailfund.org
Their results are incredible. People out of jail living in their presumption of innocence, working on their cases which gives them twice as likely a chance to get a favorable outcome, the average bail paid is a $1000, and almost everyone returns back to court.
Pray about this with me.
Blessings and peace
Throwing out an idea for our little community.
The more I research the bond system,
the more I realize how absolutely broken and unjust it is.
•Did you know that America is one of the few industrialized nations with a For-Profit Bail Bond system? It is outlawed in most the rest of the world.
•Did you also know that most legal institutions in America, the American Bar Association and the National District Attorneys Association, is against our current bond system.
Why?
One simple reason:
it absolutely discriminates against the poor
Here is what happens as I understand it. Someone is taken to jail to await trial for a suspected crime - innocent until proven guilty. If they are unable to make bail because they can't afford it, they sit in jail for months waiting for trial because the system is so backlogged. During this time they run the risk of losing custody of their children, their homes or apts, their jobs, their transportation.
Poor folks run the risk of losing everything. They sometimes plead guilty to crimes they didn't commit or take plea deals that are harsher than normal to get out. Now they have a criminal record which follows them for life. They are not allowed to be out of jail during their trial to help their legal team collect the necessary evidence to prove their innocence.
The more affluent and wealthy pay whatever they need. They hire better legal teams. They collect the evidence. They fight the charges getting them reduced or dismissed.
One lawyer I listened to said that poor folks come to them and say "do whatever it takes to get me out" while wealthier folks say "let's fight this." The system forces some people, because of finances, to make desperate and hasty decisions in the short-term that negatively impact in the long-run simply over a matter finances. That's not freedom. That's not the land of the free. That's not the country we know and love.
I love this country. I love that we are guaranteed a fair trial by a jury of our peers relatively free from corruption. But the system is backlogged and jammed - an in many places it is absolutely broken. People wait months and months for a trial - losing important aspects of their lives they tried so hard to create.
What can we do?
•I don't know yet, but I got an idea.
•More and more states are banning for-profit bail bonds (Illinois, Kentucky, Oregon and Wisconsin). More research into other systems will go along way. Look for ways to resist, protest, and have laws changed.
• CA Senator Kamala Harris as teamed up bi-partisanly with Rand Paul to address this issue: https://www.mercurynews.com/…/kamala-harris-bail-reform-ra…/
*ONE IDEA I LOVE SO MUCH*:
COMMUNITY BAIL BOND FUNDING
Look at what Brooklyn is doing: https://brooklynbailfund.org
Their results are incredible. People out of jail living in their presumption of innocence, working on their cases which gives them twice as likely a chance to get a favorable outcome, the average bail paid is a $1000, and almost everyone returns back to court.
Pray about this with me.
Blessings and peace
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