What is New on the Bail Reform Truth Website

If you haven’t already signed up to receive notifications and articles from the Bail Reform Truth Website, we think it is time you did. Over the past 6 months, the site has had close to 10,000 views and over 7,500 unique visitors. There have been 105 articles posted on the site on topics ranging from Bail Reform to Bail Research to Bail Legislation. Below are just a few of the most recent posts. As always, we hope you not only read and enjoy them, but please copy the link and post and share on your social media. The more we can share these important ideas and content with others on the internet, the more the truth will get out there.

Latest From Bail Reform Truth

Bail Reform Rhetoric: All Talk and No Data We have all heard the sad stories about poor people being locked up in jail all because they can’t afford a bail bond. We have heard the stories about the research that shows that you can just release people from jail with no accountability and your communities will be safer. We have all heard that alternatives to secured bail are more fair and more equitable. With all that being said, what we haven’t seen through all the stories and the promises is the data that supports them…or what we like to call…the truth. READ THE FULL ARTICLE >>>

The Arnold Ventures’ Predictive Risk Assessments Found to Have No Predictive Abilities at All For how long have we been hearing that risk assessments are the answer to a more fair system? How long have we heard to trust the experts and the algorithms? Well guess what? A new Harvard Law School Access to Justice Lab study, commissioned about a decade ago by Arnold Ventures to evaluate the effectiveness of the PSA (a widely used pretrial risk assessment tool) in Dane County, Wisconsin, as well as sites in Iowa and Utah, has finally been completed. READ THE FULL ARTICLE >>>

Activist California Judge Cares More About Criminals Than California Citizens We hate writing about it, but if we don’t, no one will. This past week in California, another activist judge was responsible for releasing an illegal immigrant from jail for free without any oversight or accountability. According to the judge, she sees the work she does every day as a protest against the system. READ THE FULL ARTICLE >>>

Oklahoma: Don’t Confuse Broken Hearings With a Mandate to Expand Pretrial Services Oklahoma lawmakers are currently looking to reform the state’s pretrial system. Recent reporting from The Frontier and KOSU has uncovered a potential issue in Oklahoma County surrounding their first appearance process. According to the article, some defendants are given barely any time in their initial court appearance. Some last less than 20 seconds long. Due to full dockets and fewer resources, judges are forced to speed through these hearings, often failing to inquire about a person’s flight risk or personal circumstances. READ THE FULL ARTICLE >>>