In the face of injustice or a shared yearning for change, Americans have historically exercised their right to assemble in public spaces, fervently engaging in protests that echo the principles enshrined in our Constitution. To advocate for justice and equity through public demonstration is democracy in action. 

American Values at Risk

Americans value protesting as much as they do another common principle: the presumption of innocence. Our First Amendment contains the right to public protest, and this continues to be a catalyst for change during pivotal moments in history. The right to free speech empowers citizens at a protest to collectively chant, wield signs with poignant messaging, and employ language, all of which are potent tools for societal transformation. 

However, protestors sometimes encounter legal hurdles, including arrest, which exposes them to another facet of the criminal justice system – unaffordable cash bail. Understanding these intersections is paramount, as the right to protest and the right to a fair and equitable criminal justice system are interconnected strands of the democratic fabric.

Know Your Rights

Regardless of the cause of the protest, it’s critical to know your rights and understand the laws associated with organizing or participating – as well as what you should do if you are approached by law enforcement. It’s not uncommon for law enforcement to disrupt a protest. If individuals are arrested as a result, bail may be set as a condition of release.

Despite constitutional protections against excessive bail outlined in the 8th Amendment, the economic landscape, marked by high rates of inflation, renders bail amounts unattainable for many. A person’s options are limited if they cannot afford their bail. Most states allow people to hire a for-profit bail bonds agent to pay their bail, if they can afford the 10% non-refundable fee to do so. In some jurisdictions, The Bail Project could pay a protestor’s bail for free, sparing them the expense of having to hire a bail bonds agent altogether. Without money to pay a bail bonds agent or access to The Bail Project’s services, someone might have to wait in jail until their court date, which can take days, weeks, months, or even years. 

If someone you know needs help paying bail and they’re incarcerated in a location The Bail Project operates in, start by submitting a referral.

At The Bail Project, our mission is clear: to provide free bail assistance to individuals in pretrial detention, ensuring that the pursuit of justice remains truly equal for all. Our commitment stems from a fundamental belief in the presumption of innocence, a principle enshrined in our country’s founding documents. Yet, as we examine the practical implications of cash bail, it becomes evident that the criminal justice system often falls short of its promises.

For those who can afford to pay their bail, the system allows a return to normalcy – to their homes, lives, and communities, as they await trial. Conversely, individuals without the financial means face prolonged separations from their loved ones and endure uncertain periods of waiting for their court cases to resolve, which sometimes takes weeks, months or even years.

The challenges extend beyond financial constraints. Across the country, county jails are overcrowded, decrepit, and lack the healthcare and support services necessary to ensure the safety and wellbeing of those awaiting trial. This situation is particularly dire for individuals with physical disabilities because they often face additional hurdles accessing proper care while incarcerated. Our client support specialist, Mercy, for example, ran into several obstacles in Tulsa when helping a client who is deaf.  

“I recently had a client who rightly refused to take a plea bargain because he knew he did not commit the crime he was accused of. My client was deaf; he read lips very well but could not sign ASL. In every court setting, I would show up and type out on my laptop what was happening in the courtroom because the court system failed to provide a method of communication. I remember feeling despair in each setting because my client felt no single person in the system cared for him. He felt alone, and he felt like a number to someone who just wanted him to plead guilty. However, at each court appearance, he would show up with such courage and continue to advocate for himself. At his last court appearance, I remember feeling anguish that still a method of communication had not been established. He again was offered another opportunity to take a plea, but he refused, and a trial date was set. The prosecutors remained adamant that they had a cooperating witness that would find my client guilty.”

As students prepare to head back to their classrooms, we’re diving deep into a critical topic: the cash bail system. Remember the principle of “innocent until proven guilty”? It’s a cornerstone of our legal system. Yet the cash bail system seems to rephrase that to “innocent until you can’t pay.”

At The Bail Project, we believe in shedding light on this issue. Our mission includes public awareness, using true stories, and advocating for a better understanding of cash bail. While it’s a significant part of criminal justice, many remain unaware of its daily impact on thousands of lives.

Whether you’re personally familiar with bail, concerned about its reform, or merely curious, our guide is designed for you. Dive in!

Lesson 1: Required Reading

• Bail 101: Get acquainted with the essential elements of bail. Discover how it operates, the implications of not affording it, and the experience of waiting for trial while incarcerated.
• The Evolution of Bail: The reliance on cash bail isn’t new. Explore its history and how it’s transformed into a system that often penalizes those facing financial hardships.
• Profiting from Bail: Interestingly, only the U.S. and the Philippines maintain a for-profit bail structure. Uncover how the American bail industry gains from individuals unable to pay their bail.

Lesson 2: Show And Tell

• The Growing Dilemma: Witness how, even without a significant rise in annual convictions, jail populations surge.

• Bail in Action: Upon arrest, a judge sets the bail during an arraignment. Due to the system’s pressures, judges often rush through this process, perhaps not fully considering individual circumstances. Get a firsthand look at an arraignment in Harris County, Texas.
• The Public Perception of Bail: Unaffordable cash bail impacts thousands of lives daily, but how much do people really know about it? We asked Kentuckians from different parts of the state for their thoughts on the system and how it affects their community. 

Lesson 3: Connect The Dots

• The Ties to Mass Incarceration: On any given night, around half a million people sit in jail without a conviction. One primary reason? Unaffordable cash bail. Delve into the relationship between bail and the larger issue of mass incarceration.
• The Racial Divide: Disproportionately, cash bail affects people of color. Understand why, despite the promise of equal justice, individuals of color often face steeper bails than their white counterparts.
• Women and Bail: Women represent the fastest-growing incarcerated demographic, with cash bail playing a significant role. Learn about the unique challenges women confront within this system.

Lesson 4: Looking Ahead 

• The Power of Community: While cash bail continues to criminalize poverty, communities are pooling resources to bring their loved ones home. Examine how bail funds continue the longstanding tradition of marginalized communities fighting against oppressive systems.  
• What Comes Next: By envisioning a future where cash bail and pretrial detention are not the default response, we can create a more equitable system. Take a closer look at a future without cash bail.

Now, armed with knowledge, we invite you to listen to the narratives of our clients directly affected by the cash bail system. And if, like us, you envision a more just future, discover ways to get involved and spread the word!

Asking what ignites your interest or concern amidst the unending roar of the 24-hour news cycle is a potent question. What factors determine an issue or event as worthy of your valuable time and energy? The answer, for most individuals, lies within the sphere of human connection. When we resonate with elements of ourselves, relatable experiences, or unique insights within a narrative, we develop a deeper sense of care.

Consider your favorite documentary or TV series — your choice of preferred character is likely based on the level of connection or identification with them. Human storytelling, woven with personal anecdotes or distinctive traits, amplifies our memory of experiences. With a vivid memory comes an urge to share, helping the legacy thrive and encouraging others to gather wisdom from it.

This principle centralizes our mission at The Bail Project. Our goal doesn’t just spotlight our clients’ stories; it aims to foster empathy, understanding, and eventual realization of why certain systemic changes are needed.

Assigning a human face to a cause resonates universally, crossing over diverse societal backgrounds, as one can always discover shared ground in varying human experiences.

Media narratives often focus on high-profile personalities or individuals of wealth facing unique challenges or circumstances. Conversely, the unsung stories of thousands languishing in jail cells nationwide due to an inability to afford bail are seldom highlighted. These individuals, drawn from less privileged backgrounds, still possess narratives equally deserving recognition. The profound trauma associated with awaiting a court date from a jail cell for months or even years goes largely untold and unreported. Some lives have been tragically lost over bail amounts as trivial as $100. The year 2022 etched a chilling record as the most deadly at Rikers Island, where alarmingly, 9 out of 10 individuals are awaiting trial without a conviction. These tragic losses, eclipsed by flashier media stories, arguably warrant equal — if not stronger — public outcry.

Societal imbalances in our legal and media landscapes remain starkly apparent. Economically disadvantaged individuals often fall through the cracks, their plight conveniently overlooked. Deplorably, many are reduced to a judgmental dollar figure set by a court, a price that decides where they’ll anxiously await their court hearing. The media narrative frequently labels them as “criminals”, with public opinion promptly assigning guilt purely based on their inability to afford release.

When individuals are whittled down to a dollar value or become a mere statistic in the ballooning jail population, we dangerously forget their inherent human depth. They are not just numbers; they are individuals with distinctive life stories awaiting recognition. At The Bail Project, we aim to amend this dismissive narration. Our purpose allows for a deeper understanding of those incarcerated pretrial and brings these unseen stories into the limelight. Our mission pivots around recounting the experiences of the people we aid and their families. Their personal narratives animate the urgency for systemic change. Our advocacy doesn’t rest on assumptions; we know pretrial reform necessitates action due to the harsh realities our clients encounter.

So, the next time you come across terms like ‘cash bail’ or ‘pretrial incarceration’, consider the real-life stories behind the terminology. Think about Sandra, who teetered on the brink of losing her children due to an unmanageable bail payment, or Christopher, whose egregious neglect to medical attention almost cost him his eyesight while in jail. Together, let us bring their stories, and countless others like them, to the forefront, countering the narrative that devalues them purely due to their bank balance.

The U.S. is often called the land of the free. Still, many systems in America, like the justice system, are heavily influenced by money. Here, the more money you have, the more opportunities, resources, and access to justice you’re likely to get.

You must have come across bail money in jokes or idioms. Maybe you’ve seen a TV character trying to make bail, or maybe you have ‘bailed’ a friend out of an awkward situation. Regardless, bail isn’t a joking matter. A lot of people don’t completely understand how bail actually works within our criminal justice system.

The cash bail system has seen the movement of thousands of dollars over the years, promising that individuals who pay a bail amount will faithfully return to court. Originally, this was an innocuous idea, but over time, the practice has turned into something else – it’s begun to criminalize poverty. So how does this work? Where does all this bail money actually go, and how does it affect a person’s right to justice? Let’s track the life of a bail amount to find out.

When someone is arrested, the decision to allow bail and the bail amount lies with the judge. If the judge grants bail, the defendant can pay the set amount directly to the court to secure their release from jail until the trial date. Once the trial ends, regardless of the outcome – whether found guilty or innocent, whether the charges are dropped or the case is dismissed – the person gets the bail money back. Yes, you heard it right. No matter if you are guilty or not, you get your bail money back.

However, in some scenarios this process contains loopholes ending with bail money only partially refunded or not returned at all. The U.S. Constitution asserts that “excessive bail” shall not be imposed, yet judges routinely set bail at levels that are unaffordable for most. This scenario leaves individuals with limited options: remain in jail awaiting trial, plead guilty falsely or prematurely to escape detention, or engage a bail bondsman to post their bail. Using a bail bondsman, however, results in a non-refundable 10% fee in exchange for the bail payment. Once the case concludes, the bondsman scoops a profit and neither the incarcerated person nor their families receive any of the bail money. This situation emphasizes the tremendous influence socio-economic status has on the path to justice.

There’s another angle of this issue – the fines and fees attached to a case separate from the bail amount. In states like Florida, these penalties and costs are so bloated that a full bail refund is nearly unheard-of. The sad truth is that most people in pretrial detention can’t afford bail, and the little money they can scrape together to pay a bondsman is money lost forever. Whether you will get your bail money back depends on who pays it and where it’s paid, not guilt or innocence.

The Bail Project is dedicated to establishing an equitable system that eliminates financial requirements from the justice process. However, we first need a temporary fix to deal with the current cash bail crisis. We’ve established a national revolving bail fund to support as many people as we can who are trapped in the poverty-incarceration cycle.

Bail was initially meant to ensure defendants return to court, but our model demonstrates that people don’t require financial motivation to appear.

Our clients, without any financial pull, return to over 90% of their court dates.

Instead of watching bail money vanish, our focus should be on directly funding communities that are truly in need. Doing so would enable these neighborhoods to maintain robust social services, which could help deter involvement with the criminal justice system before it even begins.

Our thriving justice system should not depend on the ebb and flow of monetary incentives or refunds. What it should lean on are decisions firmly rooted in credible evidence, and on the principle that everyone, no matter their income, has an equal chance at justice.

Five years ago, The Bail Project was born with the mission to prove that cash bail is unnecessary and unjust. We set out to prove this by paying bail for free for as many people as possible. With over 25,000 people freed and over two dozen jurisdictions served, our process for connecting with people and securing their freedom has evolved. As a national organization, it’s important that we make requesting bail assistance accessible to individuals across the country in the counties we work in. We implemented a bail referral form to do just that.

We get bail requests from a number of sources including public defenders, voicemails from loved ones, and direct messages on social media, to name a few. Regardless of how someone has been in contact with us or found out about our services, the referral form is the first step in requesting bail assistance.

After the referral is submitted, the appropriate team reviews the information and proceeds with next steps. Our staff on the ground in each city we operate in handles all bailouts and pretrial support coordination. Once a member of our staff receives a referral, they conduct preliminary research to determine a person’s eligibility for our services. This research includes reviewing bail amounts, checking for outstanding warrants that would prevent someone’s release, and confirming that the individual is incarcerated at a location where we work.

If a person is deemed eligible, our site staff begins the intake process where we interview them to build a supportive release plan. We conduct in-person meetings with clients in jails where facilities permit, and utilize on-site video visitation where they do not. Creating a supportive release plan includes identifying third party contacts, stable housing, transportation to and from future court dates, and voluntary community social service referrals. In the communities we serve, we work with local organizations and service providers that can help address unmet needs that people we help might have. During this process, we send weekly status updates to the referring party until we are able to post bail.

One of the biggest differences between The Bail Project and commercial bail bonds is that our services are 100% free. We will never ask anyone we help or their loved ones for money or fees. We work directly with each person to identify the support they need to ensure they can return to court. Rather than charge someone a 10% fee that they’ll never get back in order to post bail, we pay bail for free directly to the court and get 100% of the money back when someone’s case closes. We add the money right back into our national revolving bail fund to help the next person. Our staff are here to take money out of the justice system and replace it with community support.

Paying bail for free and supporting people while they wait for trial is the backbone of our organization. The referral form streamlines this process and allows our teams to help as many people as possible. The legal system is confusing, frustrating, and alienating. We’re aiming to remove some of that confusion and loneliness by creating supportive release plans, and working with an individual’s community to give them the same opportunities as anyone who could afford to pay their bail.

If someone you know needs help paying bail, please submit a referral. Still have some questions? Review our frequently asked questions.

If you’re looking for a career in a field that makes you think deeper about what you can contribute to the world, social justice might be the field for you. It’s not about promoting a product. It’s not about sales. It’s not about making money. It’s about encouraging people to believe in something bigger than themselves and to question why systems work the way they do. Working in social justice means working towards a goal that might seem unachievable to some. But it also means working alongside others who know that the goal is not only attainable but necessary for a better future for everyone. 

A career in social justice is both fulfilling and demanding. Working towards change that is bigger than yourself and does not come quickly takes strength and perseverance. But working alongside other individuals committed to positive change makes all the difference. One of the most gratifying parts is seeing all of the moving parts necessary for change come together. 

For The Bail Project, every team plays a crucial role in making a more humane and equitable pretrial system for everyone. We build teams of experts that address all moving parts of the organization from operations to management, data, communications, marketing, development, and policy. Even more important than having the necessary amount of people to fill various roles, we make sure to remain diverse and community-based. We recruit from the same communities we serve and prioritize directly impacted voices. 1 in 4 of our staff have directly experienced jail, bail, or prison, the majority of our staff identify as women, and nearly 70% are people of color. Although we are spread out across over two dozen jurisdictions, we all come together for the common mission of ending cash bail, a system that criminalizes poverty. 

The wide range of needs in a social justice job makes it a diverse workforce to be a part of. Working in social justice looks different for different people. While people offering tangible support to community members is essential, we also need people to communicate messages, market an organization’s mission, and fight for policy reform to solidify the work that’s already being implemented on the ground. Whether your strength is in policy reform, social services, social media marketing, grant writing, or project management, there is space for a wide range of skill sets in the social justice field. 

When I joined The Bail Project, I was looking for a way to bridge social justice and social media. I wanted to bring human stories and knowledge about equitable systems to spaces where people already spend a lot of time. I wanted to get people to stop scrolling and have that “oh wow” moment and share content that makes people want to tell others about what they’ve learned. Inspiring others to care about what you are passionate about has become even more accessible thanks to social media. Using Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, and YouTube allows us to meet people where they’re at and inspire them to take action in whatever way they can. 

Whether it’s bailing people out of jail, developing a website, advocating for legislation, or managing local teams, working in social justice can offer a wide variety of unique experiences with the opportunity to connect with people in the same fight for justice. 

Think it’s the right fit for you? See a full list of open positions at The Bail Project.