Two Nebraska Senators: Don’t Jail People for Being Poor
“Judges should take defendants’ ability to pay into account when they set bail or impose punishments for unpaid fines, two Nebraska senators told a legislative committee Thursday.
Setting lower bail amounts or no bail for low-income defendants advances the principles of justice and saves counties from paying to jail people who have not even committed crimes that come with jail sentences, said Sen. Adam Morfeld of Lincoln. A measure he sponsored would require courts to do all they can to avoid pretrial incarceration and waive fees for supervised release if defendants can’t pay.”