(Full disclosure: Reentry Central’s Managing Editor, Beatrice Codianni, has taken part in several community discussions on the creation and implementation of the Connecticut Bail Fund.)
The following article was originally posted in the New Haven Register on July 12, 2016.
NEW HAVEN >> Most of the men, women and youths who have been arrested and are sitting in jail awaiting a court date can’t afford even minimal bail.
The Connecticut Bail Fund, being launched by a small group from Yale University, plans to address the problem by posting bail for those caught in the state’s penal system without the means to gain their freedom.
“About 60 percent of the country’s jail population is pretrial, meaning they have not been convicted,” said Brett Davidson, a 2016 Yale graduate and executive director of the bail fund. “We want to serve individuals who are being failed by the pretrial system in Connecticut.” These are the people the Connecticut Bail Fund plans to help.
According to the Justice Policy Institute, 70 percent of those held in jail on unresolved felony charges are there solely because they can’t afford bail.
Davidson said there is a real need to reform the bail system. Read more
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