Dear Friend,

People shouldn’t be punished just for being poor, but that’s exactly what the U.S. bail system does. While awaiting trial, accused individuals are sometimes eligible to be released after posting bail -- a cash deposit that they’ll get back when their case is over -- but those without the ability to post bail sit in jail for weeks or months even though they haven’t been convicted of a crime.

About 70% of people in local jails are detained without being convicted of any crime.(1) Not only are hundreds of thousands of people unfairly kept in detainment, but too many of them enter financially struggling and leave further impoverished. The average felony bail bond amount is $10,000: the equivalent of 8 months' income for the typical detained person.(2) 

The U.S. bail system unfairly punishes marginalized people. That’s why we’re continuing the fight for bail reform and joining allies in calling on Congress to take on this unjust system.

Sign the petition: Urge Congress to pass national cash bail reform.

The bail system doesn’t just discriminate against poor people; black people are jailed at disproportionately higher rates and forced to pay higher average bail amounts than white people.(3) In California, they’re over 6.5 times more likely than white people to be locked up, often without being convicted.(4) 

Despite the increasing wealth and racial disparities in the American criminal justice system, Congress has yet to act. States like New Jersey and California have already moved to reform their own bail systems, but we can’t achieve nationwide progress without action from our federal representatives.(5) National bail reform is far past overdue, and we need your help to ensure our federal representatives enact legislation to stop the bail system from punishing our country’s most vulnerable people.

Tell Congress it’s time to reform the unjust cash bail system.

In solidarity,

Mai, along with Analeeza, Annie, Brenna, Caitlin, Diego, Eddie, Gabby, Lindsay, Mary, Molly, Raquel, and Scottie (the Courage Campaign team)

Footnotes:
1. https://www.prisonpolicy.org/graphs/pie2017_jail_detail.html
2. https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/pie2019.html
3. https://www.princeton.edu/~wdobbie/files/racialbias.pdf  
4. https://www.hrw.org/report/2017/04/11/not-it-justice/how-californias-pretrial-detention-and-bail-system-unfairly
5. https://www.wnyc.org/story/crime-rates-plunge-new-jersey-giving-bail-reform-advocates-chance-gloat/

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