Bail Reform

Risk Assessment: Explained

Matt Henry Mar 25, 2019

New York City Looks To Eliminate Hidden Bail Fees

As they await statewide action to eliminate cash bail, city councilmembers are looking for ways to reduce the financial burden on families of incarcerated people.

Bryce Covert Mar 12, 2019

As States Look To Cut Jail Populations, Electronic ‘Miniature Prisons’ Are On the Rise

There are more than 2,700 people on electronic monitoring in Cook County, Illinois, alone.

Kira Lerner Feb 28, 2019

‘I am a Human and I Just Ask to Be Treated as One’

A lawsuit challenging cash bail in St. Louis could help close a notorious jail.

Kira Lerner Feb 19, 2019

Bail Activist Jailed For Trying To Help When Cops Confronted Man In Mental Health Crisis

Colorado-based attorney and bail activist Elisabeth Epps was just released after serving a short jail stint related to a 2015 encounter with Aurora Police. The experience gave her a new understanding of the experiences of the people she has bailed out.

Aaron Morrison Feb 12, 2019

D.A. Who Ran as a Reformer Says She Needs 100 More Prosecutors

‘How are we making sure that we’re not just building and building a system that we know is not necessarily effective?’

Roxanna Asgarian Feb 08, 2019

Suffolk County D.A. Rachael Rollins’s Office is Still Prosecuting Cases She Pledged to Drop

Boston’s top prosecutor says big changes are in the works; advocates plan to keep pushing.

Emma Whitford Feb 06, 2019

San Francisco Deputy Public Defender Chesa Boudin Announces Run for District Attorney

In a wide-ranging interview, Boudin, a progressive reform candidate, told The Appeal he wants to redefine ‘public safety’ to encompass the rights of both victims and defendants.

Melissa Gira Grant Jan 15, 2019

Moving Away From ‘Jail for Everybody’

Harris County Judge Darrell Jordan discusses his newly elected colleagues’ decision to withdraw an appeal of a landmark bail reform lawsuit.

Roxanna Asgarian Jan 14, 2019

The ‘Failure to Appear’ Fallacy

Prosecutors denounce bail reform efforts when people miss court dates, but ‘failure to appear’ rates obscure the fact that many who miss court aren’t on the run.

Ethan Corey, Puck Lo Jan 09, 2019

New Orleans Prosecutor Calls New Bail Fund ‘Extremely Disturbing’

Advocates noted that bail gives prosecutors leverage to get guilty pleas from people who can’t afford to buy their way out of jail.

Raven Rakia Nov 28, 2018

Georgia Woman Endured Arrest, Million-Dollar Bond, and Months of Jail Over ‘Meth’ That Was Actually Cotton Candy

A notoriously unreliable roadside drug test administered by Monroe County sheriff's deputies led to Dasha Fincher being charged with methamphetamine trafficking.

Lauren Gill Nov 27, 2018

Your Essential Criminal Justice Guide to Election Night

From sheriffs to bail to marijuana, and more—here’s what you need to know.

Daniel Nichanian Nov 05, 2018

Harris County Judges May Face a Reckoning Over Bail On Election Day

Republican misdemeanor judges in Houston have clung to an unconstitutional bail system. But their intransigence could cost them their seats.

Maura Ewing Nov 04, 2018

Cash Bail Yields A New Casualty

A Texas jail suicide involving a woman who couldn’t make bail in a shoplifting case highlights of the plight of pretrial detainees with mental illness.

Lauren Gill Oct 12, 2018

One Year After Cook County’s Bail Reform, Court Watchers Say Things Are Getting Worse

Judges are still setting bail at unaffordable levels, and more people are being held without bond.

Bryce Covert Oct 05, 2018

NYC Prosecutors Are Stoking Fear About the Mass Bailout, But Their Arguments Don’t Add Up

District attorneys’ comments belie the true purpose of bail in New York and ignore the safety risks of jail itself.

John Pfaff Oct 02, 2018

California could soon end money bail, but at what cost?

The passage of Senate Bill 10 would decimate the bail industry, but many advocates say it falls short of true reform.

Max Rivlin-Nadler Aug 22, 2018

Justice in America Episode 4: A Conversation With John Legend

Josie and Clint talk with the artist about criminal justice reform and his #FREEAMERICA campaign.

Josie Duffy Rice, Clint Smith Aug 15, 2018

New Orleans Court Ordered To Stop Funding Itself On The Backs Of The Poor

The criminal court was funneling millions of dollars a year from poor communities.

Bryce Covert Aug 13, 2018

Harris County D.A. Ran as a Reformer. So Why is She Pushing High Bail for Minor Offenses?

An email obtained by The Appeal shows Kim Ogg's office is intentionally asking for unaffordable bail amounts to hold certain people in jail in Texas.

Alex Hannaford Aug 09, 2018

Ohio Council Member Wants to Implant Microchips in People Awaiting Trial

Taking electronic monitoring to the next level.

Kira Lerner Aug 07, 2018

Philadelphia Courts are Running a Financial Scheme That Profits Off The Poor

And padding city and state coffers with millions of dollars.

Maura Ewing Aug 03, 2018

The Appeal Podcast Episode 9: The History––and Promise––of the Bail Abolition Movement

With journalist Bryce Covert.

Adam H. Johnson Jul 26, 2018

Justice in America Episode 1: Justice for the Rich, Money Bail

Introducing a new podcast from The Appeal, featuring Josie Duffy Rice and Clint Smith III.

Josie Duffy Rice, Clint Smith Jul 25, 2018

EXCLUSIVE: Documents Reveal Bronx DA’s Office Is Still Withholding Key Evidence In Prosecution of Bronx Teen

Pedro Hernandez’s case has inspired calls for reform, but he’s still being targeted for an alleged cell phone theft.

Simon Davis-Cohen, George Joseph Jul 18, 2018

The Court Watch Movement Wants To Expose The ‘House of Cards’

Prosecutors and judges across the country are starting to feel eyes on them.

Bryce Covert Jul 16, 2018

Prosecutors and Judges in Pennsylvania County Hammer Defendants in Low-Level Drug Cases

In overdose-wracked Franklin County, Pennsylvania, a small-time dealer is denied bail, while the number of drug induced homicide cases has skyrocketed.

Joshua Vaughn Jul 09, 2018