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Your Call

Your Call: Is the bail bond system broken?

  

On today's Your Call, we’ll talk about the bail bond industry. Roughly two-thirds of prisoners in the US are stuck in jail because they can’t afford to pay bail. Critics say the bail bond system disproportionately affects the poor. Is it time for reform?  Are too many people serving time "until proven guilty" because they can’t pay?  And who is making money in this multi-billion dollar industry?  Join the conversation on the next Your Call with Holly Kernan and You.

Guests:

Shane Bauer, Mother Jones reporter, author of the article, "Get Out of Jail Free"

Meghan Guevarra, consultant with the Pretrial Justice Institute

Resources:

Mother Jones: Get Out Of Jail Free: Lobbyists, Guns, and Money: Inside the Shadowy and Very Well-Connected Bail Bonds Industry

Pretrial Justice Institute

Justice Policy Institute: Bail Fail: Why the U.S. Should End the Practice of Using Money for Bail

Justice Policy Institute: Release: Money Bail Serves No Purpose in a Fair, Effective Justice System

SacObserver: New Study Shows That Blacks Pay More to Get Out of Jail on Bail

CS Monitor: Jailed without conviction: Behind bars for lack of money

Al Jazeera America: Chasing Bail

Prison Photography: The Broken Bail System: “Follow the Money”

NPR: Bail Burden Keeps U.S. Jails Stuffed With Inmates

San Francisco Pretrial Diversion Project