// Cash bail is arbitrary, destructive, and criminalizes poverty. Quite the indictment of our prosecutorial system. Who do you think said it? Somebody on the cutting edge of legal commentary, right? Ketanji Brown Jackson? Larry Tribe? No. It was John Fricking Oliver.

RIP Kalief Browder. John Oliver: “The collateral damage of locking so many people up pre-trial is enormous. To defend this system is to defend a people wrecking machine.” #LastWeekTonight #BailReform pic.twitter.com/82MI7ecsif

— Garin Pirnia (@gpirnia) October 31, 2022

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In a recent episode of Last Week Tonight, ATL Honorary JD Holder™ John Oliver gave an amazing critique of the cash bail system. One of the stories he highlighted was Marvin Mayfield’s experience of being held in Riker’s Island on bail without ever being charged with a crime.

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RIGHT NOW: Marvin Mayfield, who spent 11 innocent months on Rikers on bail he couldn't afford, joins New Yorkers across the state to celebrate the hard fought battle to end cash bail so the majority of New Yorkers don't have to suffer like he did. Follow here for all the action: pic.twitter.com/2c1pDSlY2u

— Scott Hechinger (@ScottHech) December 10, 2019

This is, of course, nothing other than a tragedy. It is also quotidian. It turns out that about 74% of people in jail haven’t actually been convicted of a crime — many of them are simply there because they couldn’t afford bail.

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Ending cash bail shouldn’t really be that difficult. It isn’t like it is standard practice — most other countries don’t do it and several states have already ended the practice. Unfortunately, the spectre of cash bail has become a new right-wing talking point that — surprise, surprise — has been awash with goofy “tough on crime” rhetoric and some dastardly racial outcomes. You’d think the Liberty people would be concerned with MOST people in prison being there without being accused of a crime, but no. They’re conflating doing away with cash bail with The Purge. No, this isn’t hyperbole.

Illinois Democrats passed the Pritzker SAFE-T Act which ends cash bail and releases dangerous criminals onto our streets. State's Attorneys are saying HALF of prison inmates will be released in January! This Purge Law is a nightmare for families who want safe neighborhoods!

— Mary Miller (@Miller_Congress) November 3, 2022

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I sure do hope that a couple of those prison inmates will be people who were put in jail because they couldn’t afford to pay out the arbitrary number some judge decided to hold them ransom for.

A reminder to our reader base: I know that many of you are making six figures and frequently talk to people who would complain about having to sell their second boat, but it is important to remember that over half of Americans cannot afford an unexpected thousand-dollar emergency. This judge’s arbitrary doubling of cash bond over being answered “Yeah” over “Yes” could mean the difference between someone seeing their children that night or sleeping in an orange jumpsuit.

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Oh, and those racial outcomes I mentioned earlier?

This is something. Illinois GOP is now texting voters mugshots of Black people to try to kill bail reform before it even goes into effect. These tactics should clarify for everyone that this manufactured “debate” isn’t really about policy.

It’s about caging more Black people. pic.twitter.com/59Pg8RIK0g

— Scott Hechinger (@ScottHech) November 3, 2022

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I know that there is a general distrust of American news media, but come on. Even if you don’t trust NBC or CNN or whatever series of letters is trying to propagandize you, something must be wrong if this many comedians are going out of their way to draw attention to legal reform. I know that it is a heavy ask, but take a minute to goof off from your billables and watch Oliver, Esq.’s breakdown of bail reform. It’s a ballot issue and we could really use some informed voters at the moment.

Just in case something in your gut prevents you from learning about legal takes from a comedian, here’s a tweet I found from some legal guy on Twitter.

Reminder: Cashless bail isn’t letting anyone out of jail who wasn’t ALREADY GETTING BAIL. So unless your complaint is “rich shoplifting suspects deserve to be out and poor shoplifting suspects deserve to wait for trial in jail” there’s literally nothing wrong with bail reform.

— Joe Patrice (@JosephPatrice) November 7, 2022

Bail Reform: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver [HBO]

Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s.  He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who cannot swim, a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at [email protected] and by tweet at @WritesForRent.

Topics

ATL Honorary JD Holder™, Bail, Cash Bail, Crime, John Oliver, Television