Across the country, we’re seeing movements achieve historic wins for fairness, racial justice, public health, and public safety. A new law ending cash bail in Illinois. Prosecutors in California, who care more about fairness than punishment. Marijuana legalization in New York that reinvests in communities. Yet prosecutors and police are fighting back with the same polarizing scare tactics that created mass incarceration to perpetuate it. We must demand justice not fear.
The honest truth about bail reform written by criminal justice experts
In an op-ed published by the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Police Superintendent Snelling claimed that the Pretrial Fairness Act prevents judges from detaining people pretrial for the possession of a machine gun.
Fact Check: FALSE
Possession of a machine gun is and always has been a detention-eligible offense under the Pretrial Fairness provisions of the SAFE-T Act, and is detainable under both the safety and willful flight bases.
In an interview for KWQC news, Rock Island State’s Attorney Dora Villareal told several untruths about the Pretrial Fairness Act. Among them were misleading statements suggesting that the end of money bond is responsible for too many people being released pretrial, and that she has no authority to detain people charged with crimes like aggravated battery and possession of stolen motor vehicles.
Fact Check: FALSE
State’s Attorney Villareal suggests that 75% of defendants are released pretrial solely because of the Pretrial Fairness Act. But data suggests otherwise. In the 14th Judicial Circuit, which includes Rock Island, 80% of people facing felony charges were in the community awaiting trial prior to implementation of the Pretrial Fairness Act. Under the old money bond system, people accused of aggravated battery of a police officer or aggravated battery of a doctor could not be denied pretrial release.
Albany community members sent a strong message to politicians and prosecutors in New York and across the country: Stop fearmongering and lying about bail reform, pretrial freedom, and other justice issues and start supporting solutions, or we’ll oust you.
Fact Check: Bail Reform Works
Soares had long aligned himself with conservative lawmakers and law enforcement unions as he advocated for hyper-carceral policies, but Albany voters saw through Soares’ misinformation and fearmongering. The Albany DA race sends a clear message to politicians and prosecutors: New Yorkers know that bail reform makes our communities safer, and fearmongering around bail reform is a losing political strategy.
A law enforcement-led “Consortium for Safe Communities” claims it wants to “fix bail reform”.
Fact Check: False
But a review of the Consortium’s proposed policy changes clearly demonstrates that what the law enforcement-led organization truly desires is to end bail reform in New York and return to a wealth-based, unfair system where people must buy their own freedom
In the wake of Deputy Musil’s death, the Illinois Sheriffs’ Association claimed that the Pretrial Fairness Act was responsible for the release of Nathan Sweeney, the truck driver accused of crashing into Deputy Musil’s vehicle and killing her.
Fact Check: FALSE
The Pretrial Fairness Act allowed for detention and the Dekalb County State’s Attorney petitioned for it. After hearing arguments from the defense and prosecution, the judge chose to release Mr.Sweeney and was not "forced" by the law to do so.
Law enforcement officials dehumanized a New Yorker in a series of depraved news articles and social media posts about a man arrested multiple times in the city’s transit system.
Fact Check: False, Cruel
Beyond fearmongering and lying about bail reform, the articles and posts prove the point that law enforcement care only about jailing more New Yorkers. NYPD named the wrong judge and wrong DA in its critical posts. Above all, law enforcement’s attacks on the man are cruel and serve to obfuscate NYPD’s own ineptitude and ineffectiveness.
A study on the effects of bail reform concludes, once again, that bail reform does not increase crime. Eliminating the ability of judges to detain someone accused of a crime does not drive crime and may in fact reduce crime.
Fact Check: Bail Reform Works
Due to a mistaken belief about relevant legal standards, the study makes an incorrect conclusion relating to recidivism in people charged with bail eligible crimes.
Following the arrest of a man awaiting trial on electronic monitoring, Sheriff Dart claimed his office was unable to track his whereabouts because of the essential movement provisions of the Pretrial Fairness Act.
Fact Check: FALSE
There is nothing in Illinois law requiring the Sheriff to stop tracking individuals on electronic monitoring.
Law enforcement, political leaders, and media outlets have seized the story of an assault on a police officer to baselessly link the incident to New York’s bail reform laws.
Fact Check: False
Not only does the case have nothing to do with bail reform, but the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office has been transparent in its challenge of identifying the people responsible and their relative levels of culpability. Innocent people should not be jailed indefinitely.
A Will County Judge blamed the Pretrial Fairness Act for his inability to detain Kyleigh Cleveland-Singleton, who has been charged with obstruction of justice, a class 4 non-violent felony. She was not accused of any violence.
Fact Check: FALSE
Class 4 non-violent felony offenses were not detainable offenses even prior to the Pretrial Fairness Act. The only option a judge had under the old system was to order a money bond, which if paid, would guarantee an individual’s release.
In an interview with WSPY News, State’s Attorney Eric Weis suggests that the elimination of cash bail creates a “release and reoffend” cycle that is causing an increase in cases. “You know, certain people can’t be held, so they go out commit crime [sic], get released, they go out and commit a crime, get released, and again, the numbers just continue to go up,” said S.A. Weis.
Fact Check: FALSE
While the Pretrial Fairness Act does eliminate the use of wealth-based pretrial incarceration, and mandates that many arrested individuals are given a chance to succeed on pretrial release, it does not eliminate the court’s ability to jail someone awaiting trial.
“There is no ability to detain a sex offender who has refused to register, a fentanyl dealer, or someone who steals a vehicle, and that is all absurd to me,” said Kankakee County State’s Attorney Jim Row in the Daily Journal.
Fact Check: FALSE
Under the Pretrial Fairness Act, all Class 3 felonies and above are detainable offenses for which someone can be denied release when certain findings are made. Failure to register, distribution of controlled substances, and possession of a stolen vehicle are all felony offenses for which pretrial release may now be denied when certain findings are made—and which were not eligible for detention prior to the new law. Judges could only order a money bond, which if paid, would guarantee an individual’s release. Now judges have the power to deny release altogether when someone poses a risk of intentionally evading prosecution.
"The biggest concern was that the abolition of cash bail would lead to a rise in crime. The bottom line from the first year of data since the Pretrial Fairness Act was implemented is that such a thing has not happened. In fact, violent crime and property crime are down."
"In the most comprehensive study of the issue to date, Brennan Center researchers found no evidence that bail reform affects crime rates."
"The Pretrial Fairness Act is just one component in building a more equitable and compassionate criminal justice system that prioritizes safety, rehabilitation and community well-being."
"In Cook County, the jail population has decreased by about 13%, comparing snapshot days in September and April, according to county data."
“'There’s a sense in the courtroom that taking money out of the equation has leveled the playing field,”' Cook County Judge Charles Beach said.
"For nearly three years, critics who railed against the abolishment predicted the state would suffer a dramatic spike in violent crime incidents or would see a string of repeat offenders roaming free. However, a variety of experts in the criminal justice fields—police, prosecutors, and public defenders alike—say so far, the opposite has happened."
"The number of people incarcerated at Cook County Jail has dropped to a near-all-time low since the statewide abolition of cash bail took effect in September. But despite the success in the Chicago area, the state has still failed to comply with key transparency and accountability portions of the Pretrial Fairness Act intended to ensure judges apply the bond reform law fairly across Illinois."
"The Cook County Jail population has dipped below 5,000 for only the second time in nearly four decades, a drop experts are linking to Illinois’ historic elimination of cash bail on Sept. 18."
"As researchers who study the use of electronic monitoring throughout the United States, we are concerned. No research shows that EM leads to better outcomes as compared to people being released without a monitor."
"Reflecting on their experiences, Brooks and Ross said being locked up pretrial harmed their chances in court. 'You’re automatically stigmatized if you’re incarcerated and you’re fighting your case, especially Black women,' Brooks said. They hope the new law will change that for others in Illinois."
"But bottom-line, it simply isn’t fair for people charged with low-level and nonviolent crimes to bide their time in jail while they await trial solely because they don’t have the cash more privileged suspects can withdraw within minutes."
"Wealth-based jailing has been brought up in our legislature twice, effectively placed on the ballot and heard by the courts. It is time to roll up our sleeves and see this historic reform through. Continuing to attempt to sabotage the law’s implementation will not only ignore the will of Illinoisans, but it will also put public safety at risk."
