Locked Up for Being Poor
“’In our society,’ the Supreme Court has held, ‘liberty is the norm, and detention prior to trial or without trial is the carefully limited exception.’ Yet across America, poor people like Ms. ODonnell are held in jail for days, weeks or even months solely because they don’t have the cash to bail themselves out. All of them are presumed innocent under the law, and many may in fact be innocent, yet most plead guilty just to get out (usually with a sentence of time served). It’s a repulsive practice, and last week, in a case that could have national implications for bail reform, a Federal District Court judge in Houston ruled that it was also unconstitutional.”