End money injustice.

We should end the travesty of money injustice. There are more than 700,000 people in U.S. jails. About two-thirds of them have not been convicted of a crime yet have been locked up mostly because they cannot make bail. Money injustice—through bail, fines, and fees—is driving much of the increase in local jail populations across the country, extracting hard-earned dollars from communities of color, and keeping too many people in jail or otherwise involved with the criminal legal system for far too long.

Explore our bail and money injustice related resources below.

Publication

Paid in Full

A Plan to End Money Injustice in New Orleans

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Video

Here's How Bail Works

The criminalization of poverty in the justice system

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Publication

Don't Let Fearmongering Drive Bail Policy

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Approximately
2/3
of the more than
740,000
people held in locally run jails across the United States have not been convicted of a crime.^[]Léon Digard and Elizabeth Swavola. Justice Denied: The Harmful and Lasting Effects of Pretrial Detention. New York: Vera Institute of Justice, 2019.
According to a 2018,

57%

of Americans believe people should not be incarcerated solely because they cannot afford money bail.^[]Pretrial Justice Institute, “With Increased Understanding of Current Practices, Americans Support Reforms to Pretrial and Money Bail Systems,” press release (Rockville, MD: Pretrial Justice Institute, July 12, 2018).
America spends an estimated
$22.2B
annually to detain people in jails.^[]Ram Subramanian et al. Incarceration’s Front Door: The Misuse of Jail in America. New York: Vera Institute of Justice, 2015.
15 seconds

The average length of time spent on a bail hearing in Dallas County, Texas.^[]Mustafa Mirza, “In Dallas County, Bail is Set in Secret—and Often in Seconds,” Texas Tribune, September 5, 2018.

From The Blog

Confronting the True Harms of Money Injustice

A conversation with New Orleans community activist Roy Brumfield

5. How do you feel about this moment and the potential for reform? I’m angry, honestly. When I was in jail and I couldn’t pay my bond, I had to make a choice: what’s important right now? And I know that’s not unique about me. I’m not the only person who made that decision based upon the circumstances.

News

Vera Institute of Justice

June 21, 2019

News

Two Ways to Show Up for Black Lives in the Wake of George Floyd’s Murder

Bail fund donations and overhauling the money bail system

As police respond to the current protests with more violence and arrests, bail funds have seen an outpouring of support—collectively raising upwards of $30 million from tens of thousands of donors across the country in a matter of days. Some bail funds, like the Brooklyn Community Bail Fund and the Minneapolis Freedom Fund, have received so many do ...

News

Insha Rahman

June 05, 2020

News

Supporting Bail Reform Is Good Business

There is no doubt that New York’s bail system is broken. Over 16,000 New Yorkers across the state are incarcerated because they cannot afford to post bail, at a cost of over $350 million a year to taxpayers to hold them in jail. Advocates, reformers, policymakers, and legislators have long been calling for bail reform in Albany. Yesterday, another ...

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