Civil Rights Commission Stalled Over Bail Reform
A new report by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights has found that 60 percent of people awaiting trial are locked up because they can't afford bail, but political polarization over the issue has paralyzed efforts at reform.
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A new report by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights has found that 60 percent of people awaiting trial remain in jails that increasingly hold people who have not been convicted of a crime, especially people of color, simply because they can’t afford bail, reports USA Today. Meanwhile, political polarization around the issue within the commission itself has resulted in a failure to pass on recommendations and findings for the second time since similar contentions in September, 2021.
Panelists repeatedly recommended more funding to the criminal justice system and that the Justice Department improve its monitoring of pre-trial abuses in various jurisdictions, noting that median bail amounts for a felony arrest are $10,000 nationally while the Federal Reserve found that nearly half of Americans would not be able to pay an unexpected expense of $400. The existing system frequently fails to detain someone because they are a public safety risk, but regularly holds those who lack the money — even $100 — to pay for cash bail. Between 1970 and 2015, the amount of people detained prior to any trial increased 433 percent across the U.S. Today, nearly three-fourths of the 631,000 people held in U.S. jails every day have not been convicted of a crime and are awaiting trial.
