comes after two recent deaths shed light on bail practices discriminating against the

poor. So how does bail actually work? And is it an unfair system?

Well, when you get arrested, you’re usually given the option of returning home, to await

your trial. However, in order to make sure you actually come back, the courts require

you to give up a refundable deposit. This deposit is known as “bail.” Some people

who are considered flight risks, or dangerous to society, are not give the opportunity to

post bail. If you do come back to court, the money is refunded to you. If you don’t,

you forfeit the money, and a warrant can be issued for your arrest. Giving suspects freedom

until their trial is a major aspect of the legal concept: innocent until proven guilty.

However, if you are unable to afford your bail, you stay imprisoned UNTIL your trial.

Many of the problems arising from waiting in jail, like wage-loss, are being considered

discriminatory against the poor. In 2013, New York state’s chief judge noted that

people without bail money, who committed even minor offenses, like protesting, had to stay

in jail for months awaiting trial.

Now, there ARE bail bondsmen who’ll lend bail money to you - but they often charge

10% in most states. So, if your bail is $10,000 dollars, you have to pay the bail company

$1,000 dollars. In this way, people who don’t have the money to begin with, end up spending

more than those who can actually afford it. Also, if you’re too poor to find a co-signer

to the loan, or you don’t have many assets, bail companies can refuse to help you.

Although the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution states that bails should not be “excessive,”

the meaning of “excessive” is debated. In a 1987 Supreme Court Case , setting high

bail costs to prevent the release of a suspect WAS deemed constitutional. This gave judges

more leeway to set high bails, based on their own perceptions of the accused and their crime.

The rich have a much easier time with the bail system. This is exemplified by many celebrities’

seemingly nonchalant relationships with jail proceedings. In the early 2000s, Robert Durst

was arrested for murder in Texas, but easily posted $300,000 dollars bail, and skipped

town.

Yet, in 2010, 16 year old Kalief Browder, was arrested for stealing a backpack, and

his bail was set at $3,000 dollars. But his family couldn’t afford it, and due to trial

postponement, Browder spent the next three years imprisoned. In 2015 he committed suicide.

His death represents how broken the justice system is for those who can’t afford better.

For the rich; trials, bail money, and lawyer fees, are problems which are easily overcome.

For the poor, the decimation of time, life savings, and life itself, have irreparable

effects on families and communities.

It’s no secret that there are a ton of problems with the US Prison system. To learn about

the dangers of prisons-for-profit, check out our video here. Thanks for joining us on TestTube

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