The Bail Project – Atlanta serves people incarcerated in Fulton and DeKalb counties.
In early 2020, a bill to limit the release of people on their own recognizance, without cash bail, gained momentum through Georgia’s state legislature. The legislation puts Georgia out of step with many other states that have taken action to limit the use of cash bail, not expand it. Yet in Augusta, as the coronavirus hit the county’s jail systems, circuit judges signaled that they were persuaded to begin releasing more people on their own recognizance to reduce the spread of COVID-19 behind bars.
Since 1970, the total jail population in Georgia has increased 1,562%.
In Georgia, Black people constitute 32% of state residents, but approximately 51% of people in jail
The number of women in Georgia’s jails has increased more than 23-fold, from 227 in 1970 to 5,228 in 2015.
Need help paying bail in Atlanta? Please fill out the form below and a Bail Disruptor will get back to you soon.