John Legend Explains Why the Bail System Needs to Change

 

John Legend helped walk viewers through the bail system — and explained why it needs to change.

The U.S. imprisoning more people than any country on Earth and Legend explains that this trend starts with money bail.

District attorney demand bail amounts that they know are too high to either force people into prison or into unjust plea bargains. They then use this mass incarceration to build their careers. This caused the bail bonds industry to grow, which preys on people of color, whom the criminal justice system disproportionately targets. This them traps people in debt while bail bondsmen invade their lives.

How do me know about this flawed system? Because 90% of the people in jail awaiting an end to felony cases are there even though some amount of bail was set for them.

According to Legend, there is no reason to lock people up simply because prosecutes are allowed to set bail so high. The corporations and district attorneys in our criminal justice system profit off of it — but all of this can be changed.

To take part in the fight against money bail, and the corruption within the criminal justice system, go to ColorOfChange.org/bail and learn how you can help.

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