The system of #CashBail is a predatory financial institution. Cash bail is nothing more than when a person pays money to leave jail before their trial. This money is supposed to guarantee that they appear for their trial or the money will be used to help restore their victim.

Bail reform is almost as old as the history of bail, which alone should make you question its viability. #CashBail predominantly affects the poor. A wealthier person can simply pay the bail and be released. Those in poverty are stuck in jail awaiting trial, sometimes for years.

Pretrial detention costs $13.6 billion in taxpayer dollars each year, nationwide. Roughly 451,000 people are held behind bars pretrial, so you can imagine the buildup in cost to taxpayers for housing and feeding these potentially innocent defendants.

Innocent people will often plead guilty to a lesser charge simply to get sentenced and get out quicker than awaiting a trial. With a record, it's difficult to get a job. They almost always lose the job they had before, resulting in losing their housing, their family, etc.

So what does a post-bail society look like?
NJ passed reforms in 2016 that essentially eliminated cash bail and created a new pretrial services program. Since 2017, NJ saw a 20% reduction in jail population.
95% of defendants were released pretrial
89% of them appeared in court

The #CashBail system, by its very nature, disproportionately affects poor communities and POC, destroys families, and ruins lives. Jo and I seek to do away with this ineffective system that doesn't do what it was intended to do: Guarantee that the accused appear at their trial.