In this TED Talk, The Bail Project’s founder Robin Steinberg recounts her journey from a public defender to a “bail disruptor,” exposing the devastating human and systemic costs of the cash bail system. Steinberg details how pretrial detention acts as a “two-tier system of justice” that disproportionately impacts Black and Latino communities, often forcing legally innocent individuals to plead guilty just to return to their families and jobs. She introduces the “audacious” revolving fund model – proven by the Bronx Freedom Fund – which demonstrates that 96% of clients return for their court dates without any financial skin in the game. By bailing out thousands of people and providing community-based support, The Bail Project seeks to provide a vital lifeline to the nearly half a million Americans held in jail simply because they are poor, while collecting the national data necessary to dismantle the system of mass incarceration for good.
We need your help to secure freedom for people trapped behind bars because of unaffordable bail.
Your support gives hope to the thousands of people still trapped in pretrial detention. We’ve supported more than 40,000 clients through free bail assistance and community-based support services like affordable housing and healthcare, and mental health services. You can help secure the freedom of thousands more.
The Bail Project is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that is only able to provide direct services and sustain systems change work through donations from people like you.
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