Re:Abolish the Cash Bail System
by justinclift on Monday October 12, 2020 @02:27AM
(#24751914)
> If you don't have anything to put up as collateral, you don't have anything to loose by skipping bail.
That doesn't seem correct. Wouldn't that really only be the case for guilty people, whereas innocent people would turn up in order to be proven innocent - assuming (perhaps wrongly) that they'd win?
I don't think poor people in the US would assume they win. And that is one major factor: when there is little to nothing to gain by staying Wwithin the system, but a lot to lose, why would you stay?
Another issue is that showing up isn't free. At the very least, it costs time. Remark that defendants typically aren't compensated, even if acquitted. If you're poor, you might not be able to afford to attend.
> you don't have anything to put up as collateral, you don't have anything to loose by skipping bail.
This right here is the problem. Addressing this would probably solve the bail issue too.
The question should perhaps be: is America ready to do what it takes to address poverty?
The flip side of that, is if you are really poor you have less resources to use making your escape, so maybe the bail system is less needed.
But just because the bail system doesn't work well for poor people doesn't mean its also broken for middle class people.