The Bail Project Launches New Site in Greenville to Assist Low-Income People Trapped by Cash Bail, and Help Advance Pretrial Reform

Press Contact: Jeremy Cherson, Director of Communications

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

(November 4, 2021) GREENVILLE — The Bail Project, a national nonprofit organization that provides free bail assistance and connections to community-based pretrial services is launching a new site in Greenville, South Carolina. The Bail Project’s local team will be helping community members in Greenville County who are incarcerated before trial because they cannot afford bail. In addition to posting bail, at no cost to the person or their family, The Bail Project can connect its clients to social services and community resources based on a person’s identified needs, including substance use treatment, mental health support, stable housing, and employment.

Cash bail was created as an incentive for people to return to court. Instead, judges routinely set cash bail well beyond people’s ability to afford it, resulting in thousands of legally-innocent people incarcerated while they await court dates. Black Americans are disproportionately impacted by cash bail, and of all Black Americans in jail in the U.S., nearly half are in Southern jails.

“There is no way to do the work of advancing pretrial reform without addressing the harmful effects of cash bail in the South,” said Robin Steinberg, Founder and CEO of The Bail Project. “Cash bail fuels racial and economic disparities in our legal system, and we look forward to supporting the community in Greenville as we work to eliminate cash bail and put ourselves out of business.”

Since 1970, the pretrial population in Greenville, SC has more than doubled. The Bail Project – Greenville is a part of the organization’s Bail Out the South campaign, aimed to double its efforts in the U.S. South where rates of pretrial incarceration are the highest in the country.

“We are excited about the opportunity to bring our local team together with community leaders and partners to help those who are in immediate need,” said Adrienne Johnson, Bail Out the South Program Manager at The Bail Project. “We are committed to creating lasting change that centers community-based alternatives to incarceration and treats people fairly regardless of income or race.”

Launched in 2018, The Bail Project has local teams in more than 25 cities and has posted bail for more than 18,000 people nationwide. The organization uses its national revolving bail fund, which is powered by individual donations, to pay people’s bail. To date, The Bail Project has paid over $47M in bail. The organization’s ultimate goal is to eliminate cash bail and the need for bail funds, including its own.