Press Contact: Jeremy Cherson, Director of Communications
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – The Bail Project strongly condemns the U.S. House of Representatives’ passage yesterday of H.R. 5214, the D.C. Cash Bail Reform Act – a sweeping and unconstitutional mandate for mass pretrial detention and wealth-based incarceration. The bill forces judges to jail people based solely on accusation, mandates cash bail across broad categories of offenses, and dismantles Washington, D.C.’s effective pretrial system.
“H.R. 5214 is a dangerous federal intrusion that overrides Washington, D.C.’s proven pretrial system and the democratic will of District residents,” said Erin George, National Director of Policy at The Bail Project. “Despite its claims, H.R. 5214 is not about public safety – it’s about control – and will have devastating ripple effects on families, communities, and safety. We urge the Senate to reject this reckless federal overreach and instead pursue public safety solutions grounded in evidence.”
For more than thirty years, Washington, D.C.’s locally designed pretrial system has protected public safety while upholding the presumption of innocence. Judges make release decisions based on individualized assessments of actual risk. The results are indisputable: In the last four years, 88% of people released pretrial in D.C. remained completely arrest-free, and 98% remained free from violent arrest.
H.R. 5214 ignores this proven success. By entrenching the use of cash bail, the bill would replace risk-based decision-making with wealth-based incarceration, forcing judges to automatically jail people who have not been convicted of a crime – even when they pose little or no risk – solely because they cannot afford to pay for their freedom. Research shows that this approach destabilizes families, increases recidivism, and makes communities less safe. At the same time, people with financial means would be able to buy their freedom regardless of the danger they may pose.
The bill also strips away the constitutional right to an individualized bail hearing – a principle firmly upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court in United States v. Salerno, which found that “liberty is the norm, and detention prior to trial or without trial is the carefully limited exception.” H.R. 5214 replaces evidence-based judicial discretion with a blunt, fear-based mandate.
The passage of H.R. 5214 marks the latest escalation in a coordinated federal campaign to dismantle bail reform nationwide. Recent executive orders and a growing slate of federal bills seek to expand pretrial incarceration, punish jurisdictions that have reduced or ended cash bail, and override local democratic decision-making.
The Bail Project calls on the Senate to reject H.R. 5214. The current D.C. pretrial system protects safety and democracy. H.R. 5214 violates both.
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About The Bail Project. The Bail Project is a national nonprofit working to transform America’s pretrial system by eliminating reliance on cash bail and proving that a more humane, equitable, and effective pretrial system is possible. We provide free bail assistance and pretrial support to thousands of low-income people each year while advancing policy change at the local, state, and national levels. Since our founding, The Bail Project has supported over 40,000 people through bail assistance, supportive services, and innovative pilot programs. This includes roughly 35,000 people who received free bail assistance and returned to court 92% of the time. Together, our work demonstrates that a fairer, safer justice system is possible – one where neither wealth nor access to support determines freedom. Learn more at bailproject.org.
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