(Op-Ed) California’s bail system is inequitable and doesn’t make us safer
“So in a state like California, which has the nation’s highest poverty rate by some measures, what that has meant is that wealthy defendants have been able to buy their way out of jail before trial — and everyone else has not. More than 60 percent of the people in our jails are awaiting their trials or sentencing. California taxpayers spend more than $4.5 million every day on the unsentenced jail population. There are additional costs, too, for those stuck in custody because they couldn’t afford to pay their bail. They suffer major disruptions in their work and family lives that can reinforce the cycle of poverty.”