What factor should determine whether a defendant has to stay in jail? The defendant’s economic capacity to post bail or the threat the defendant poses to public safety?
Statistically, Black and Latino men generally pay higher bail than White defendants do, so Illinois set a precedent as the first state in the country to abolish cash bail for nonviolent criminal defendants awaiting trial, according to an article by Ebony Curry in The Michigan Chronicle.
The Illinois Pretrial Fairness Act, effective as of September 2023, allows most defendants to remain free until their trial. The law excludes anyone charged with offenses involving violence or firearms or a sexual offense.
“Illinois stands at the precipice of monumental change, a harbinger for what could be a fundamental shift in how America’s criminal justice system approaches economic and racial inequality,” quoted the article.
According to the article, the long-standing practice of monetary bail sustained a system of inequity that resulted in an unbalanced arrangement in which affluent defendants could often buy pretrial freedom, while persons of lesser means needed to remain in custody.
Cash bail reform has emerged as one of many issues awaiting reform amid ongoing efforts to redress nationwide racial and economic inequities, noted the article.
“Advocates for justice and equality argue that the existing bail system perpetuates a cycle of inequality, disproportionately impacting low-income communities and people of color,” the article said.
Opponents of Illinois’ new law include members of the community and law enforcement agencies that have concerns about compromising public safety.
“Defendants who don’t post bond have no incentive to return to court,” said Jim Kaitschuk, executive director of the Illinois Sheriff’s Association.
Illinois’ first-in-the-nation move to eliminate cash bail for nonviolent defendants could signal an essential shift in American criminal justice reform, the article said. Other states, such as New Jersey, have also begun instituting cash bail reforms with positive results, according to the article, indicating that this trend may gain momentum.
