Press Contact: Jeremy Cherson, Director of Communications
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
(LOS ANGELES, CA) – The Bail Project’s groundbreaking Real Bail Reform campaign has been recognized as a Finalist in the Human & Civil Rights category of the Fifth Annual Anthem Awards, which celebrate purpose- and mission-driven work worldwide.
Across Texas and Michigan – two flashpoints in the national debate over pretrial justice – Real Bail Reform gave real Americans a platform to speak for themselves. The campaign’s title reflects what true reform means: a safer, fairer, more effective system based on safety, not wealth. By featuring people’s own words and faces on billboards, videos, and social media, the campaign reclaimed the narrative from politics and returned it to the people living its consequences.
Each interaction began with a simple invitation: “If you could say anything about bail reform on a billboard, what would it be?” More than 1,000 people responded. Their voices – parents, workers, students, and people of faith – became the heart of the campaign, illuminating how cash bail shapes lives and communities.
The campaign reached millions, sparking national engagement and influencing policy conversations that ultimately contributed to the amendment of Texas SJR5 to include critical due process protections.
“People already understand the harms of cash bail – they’re living it,” said David Gaspar, Chief Executive Officer of The Bail Project. “We needed to hand them the mic. Real Bail Reform gave real Americans the chance to define justice in their own words – and what they want is a safer, fairer, more effective pretrial system where decisions aren’t based on money.”
The campaign highlighted how cash bail impacts millions: nearly half of adults in the U.S. have a close family member who’s been incarcerated, and over 60% of people in jail today are there only because they can’t afford bail. Their words exposed what’s at stake in America’s ongoing debate about fairness and justice.
The campaign’s creative direction, led by The Bail Project’s in-house marketing team, emphasized the power of storytelling as a tool for justice – centering humanity and lived experience in a national conversation too often dominated by politics and fear.
Watch and share the campaign at RealBailReform.com and on The Bail Project’s social media.
Supporters can celebrate Real Bail Reform in the Anthem Community Voice Awards by voting online from October 14–30 at celebrate.anthemawards.com. Winners of the 5th Annual Anthem Awards will be announced November 18, 2025.
Thank you for your valuable attention. The urgency and complication of the cash bail crisis requires meaningful participation to create real change – change that is only achieved through the support of readers like you. Please consider sharing this piece with your networks and donating what you can today to sustain our vital work.
