Money bail targeted by Sen. Bernie Sanders, progressives who want to end US 'debtor prison' system

WASHINGTON – The long-established system of "money bail" is becoming a target for progressive lawmakers who say it unfairly penalizes the poor, forcing them to await trial in jail for a crime they may not have committed.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., introduced legislation on Wednesday to end the "debtor prison" system, saying it disproportionately impacts minorities and costs the U.S. $14 billion each year to lock up people who haven't been convicted.

"Poverty is not a crime and hundreds of thousands of Americans, convicted of nothing, should not be in jail today because they cannot afford cash bail," Sanders said in a statement. "In the year 2018, in the United States, we should not continue having a ‘debtor prison’ system."

Across the country, more local officials and civil rights groups are raising concerns about money bail as part of the national debate on ways to reform the criminal justice system.

About 35 states are considering money bail legislation this year.

An appeals court this month upheld a key portion of New Jersey's bail reforms – which eliminated cash bail for most criminal defendants and allowed judges to decide whether to detain them – over the bail-bond industry's concerns that the new system favored dangerous criminals.

Sanders' bill, introduced without co-sponsors, would end the use of secured bonds in federal court proceedings, provide grants to states that decide to implement alternate pretrial systems and withhold grants from states that use money-bail systems. Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., introduced a companion bill in the House.

Last summer, Sens. Rand Paul, a Republican from Kentucky, and Kamala Harris, a Democrat from California, also introduced legislation using grants to encourage states to replace systems that require money as a condition of pretrial release.

Cherise Burdeen, chief executive officer of the Pretrial Justice Institute, said Harris’ bill would provide grants to states "to sort of bribe them to do the right thing."

She praised the Sanders-Lieu effort to address the issue.

"The federal government has only a few ways to encourage states to follow the law and science to reduce mass pretrial incarceration – incentives or sanctions," she said.

Burdeen said many efforts to address money bail have come from state lawmakers, but those measures impact only a small number of people.

"I would rather see sort of tepid bills not get passed so we can come back with legislation that will actually make an impact on the majority of the people,” she said.

G. Larry Mays, a regents professor emeritus of Criminal Justice a New Mexico State University, said the federal government can play a role by helping fund states, where much of the criminal justice reforms are happening.

"That’s where the problems are," he said. “To me, that’s where the solutions are rather than depending on Congress."

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