CJ12- Module 3 discussion
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Jan 9, 2024
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3-1 Discussion: Bail Reform
Connie Molinaro
Southern New Hampshire University
CJ-120: Cultural Awareness in Criminal Justice
Professor. Tramayne Young, J.M. July 12, 2023
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Bail Reform
In 1964, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy once said to Congress: The rich man and the poor man do not receive equal justice in our courts. And in no area is this more evident than in the matter of bail. This is a cause in which there is great work to be done (Wykstra, S, 2018). It is fifty-nine years later, and these words are still valid. In my home state of Massachusetts, the government website states: Bail isn’t a form of punishment. The amount of bail set doesn’t indicate a defendant’s innocence or guilt, merely that they appear in court. However, the severity
of the crime may play into the determination of whether the defendant will appear in court (Mass.gov, 2022). My argument for a different form of pre-trial bail system would not apply to crimes like domestic and child abuse, rape, armed robberies, and murder. These crimes should be an automatic remanded into custody until trial. Because of the nature of their crimes and the potential harm to the victims and community at large, the court system would be within the right of the common good to keep people in jail until their day in court. Decriminalizing other offenses: juvenile mischief offenses, DUI/OUI with no bodily injury, shoplifting and theft under $1000, drunken disorderly, the system of money bail, or as done in Massachusetts, cash bail, is not only punitive to low-income offenders, more specifically, low-income offenders of color, but it also has detrimental health/medical, housing, employment, and parenting ramifications. For the lesser criminal charges, the process of fine and release or structured community service and release and working with community support programs would also be helpful in bail reform. If I am arrested for shoplifting because I cannot afford food for my family, charging me $200 in bail for a $20 item is outrageous. Now if I am partnered with my local food bank and have to do court-appointed community service there, not only do I learn that there is no shame in
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my food insecurity by using these services available to my family, but that I get to help others like me in my community by stocking the shelves or even helping people prepare their boxes of food to take home. Court-appointed community service would not be meant to shame a person for what they did but to help them see the errors of their ways and be able to express that to the court at their next hearing.
I believe there should be some form of a pre-trial bail system that needs to be in place to ensure that people return for hearings and trials, but I think that it can be tailored to the individuals and their circumstances. After Cash Bail: A Framework for Reimagining Pretrial Justice by The Bail Project wants to “Treat People as People, Not Statistical Risks”, citing that these data pretrial algorithms perpetuate racial and economic inequality because if you give them
faulty data, they will give you faulty answers, but also that these tools can still be used in biased ways by biased judges (The Bail Project, 2023). Courts putting a monetary fine on individuals and individuals of color who may already be on public assistance or not able to work will only put more undo stress and pressure on them, setting them up for failure. By looking at the whole person when determining what should be the conditions for release: sex, age, working, means of getting to work, familial obligations, and understanding the conditions that led up to the crime, a judge or even a bail magistrate would be able to recommend conditions that would be feasible for the defendant to comply with for returning to court. In this technologically advanced world we live in these days, we should be able to remind people of their net court appearances. Everyone has a phone these days, and having a system that would send out either a text or an email to the defendant two weeks before and then three
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days before an appearance would allow people to get the day off from work, thus cutting down on the number of people missing their court date. Bail reform is a complicated and diverse problem in our states and while I don’t think we will ever find the perfect program, we must work towards finding one that is equitable for all.
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References
Learn how bail is set
. Mass.gov. (2022, April 22). http://www.mass.gov/info-details/learn-how-
bail-is-set The Bail Project. (2023, June 12). After cash bail: A framework for reimagining pretrial justice
. The Bail Project. https://bailproject.org/learn/after-cash-bail/ Wykstra, S. (2018, October 17). Bail Reform, which could save millions of unconvicted people from jail, explained
. Vox. https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2018/10/17/17955306/bail-
reform-criminal-justice-inequality