Press Contact: Jeremy Cherson, Director of Communications
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
(AUSTIN, TX) — The Bail Project, a national nonprofit that provides free bail assistance and advocates for improvements to our nation’s pretrial systems, responded to Texas Governor Abbott’s declaration of “bail reform” as an emergency item on the legislative agenda in yesterday’s State of the State. The Bail Project issued the following comment:
“Governor Abbott’s prescription for a safer Texas is a misleading, redundant, and dangerous attempt to strip people of their rights and freedom. The Texas Constitution already allows for the pretrial detention of many people who have been repeatedly arrested or charged with the most serious crimes. The governor’s proposal is not about safety – it’s about fearmongering for political gain.
Texans need a system where safety, not wealth, determines who is incarcerated pretrial; unfortunately, Gov. Abbott offers no true path towards a safer, fairer pretrial system in Texas because he continues to rely on harmful cash bail and the broad overuse of pretrial detention. If Gov. Abbott succeeds in pushing Texas backward, more legally innocent people will be unnecessarily incarcerated, filling our already overcrowded jails with people who pose no risk to public safety; this wastes valuable law enforcement resources that should instead go towards fighting crime. Unnecessary incarceration impacts lives and livelihoods, costing jobs and homes, which only feeds the cycle of crime. Make no mistake: what Gov. Abbott is proposing is not reform, it’s the erosion of Texans’ rights and protections through broad punishment before trial.
Gov. Abbott and lawmakers have an important choice to make this session: double down on regressive policies that have failed to keep us safe or follow the evidence. They need look no further than Harris County to see that true bail reform works. Harris County’s reforms have a proven record of success: misdemeanor cases have dropped nearly 20% with fewer people re-arrested and most attending court as required; taxpayers saved $6.6 million annually; and violent crime has not increased – homicides, robberies, and aggravated assaults in Houston have all decreased over the past four years. Harris County is not unique – recent research by the Brennan Center for Justice shows that bail reform, when implemented in 33 cities, had no negative impact on public safety.”
Image: flickr by Gage Skidmore
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