Chasing Bail | Fault Lines
48,497
Publicado 2014-05-28
The number of Americans incarcerated before standing trial in a court of law—currently more than 750,000 inmates—has never been higher. On any given day, nearly 70 percent of the national jail population is awaiting judgement, locked up without being convicted of a crime.
The U.S. is one of only two countries in the world that allows private companies to bail people out of jail at a profit. Bail bond companies earn $2 billion annually by getting people out for a fee. The majority of the accused remain behind bars because they cannot afford to pay for their release.
Proponents of commercial bail say it provides a public service at zero cost to taxpayers. But what are the ultimate costs of the pay-for-freedom pretrial process?
Fault Lines travels to California, Maryland and New York to examine how money determines the fates of those awaiting trial by the criminal justice system.
Fault Lines is a weekly show that takes you beyond headlines and holds the powerful to account as we examine the US' role in the world.
More on our website: aljazeera.com/
Follow us on Twitter: twitter.com/AJEngligh
Subscribe to our channel: bit.ly/AJSubscribe
Find us on Facebook: facebook.com/aljazeera
#AlJazeeraEnglish #Faultlines #USJail
Todos los comentarios (21)
-
Put in jail for stealing 2 drinks from a shop. America is a joke.
-
I love the WISDOM of the Judge with the WHITE BEARD..... Glad you invited his opinion .
-
Wow the bail system is more criminal then the criminals they are after. Absolutely insane we let this happen as a society.
-
"Too poor to purchase their liberty " profound. For stealing 3 bottles of drinks the price is $2500..poor to purchase the drinks and too poor to buy freedom.. Something is wrong with this.. If he had beg for the drinks he probably wouldn't have gotten it. Sad world. m
-
It'a all about the money, this is a slave system for real
-
Murderers with money bail out but a petty thief who's homeless is made a worse criminal by repeated jailing.
-
In the government you call civilized, the happiness of the people is constantly sacrificed to the splendor of empire. Hence the origin of your codes of criminal and civil laws; hence your dungeons and prisons. We have no prisons; we have no pompous parade of courts; we have no written laws; and yet judges as highly revered among us as they are among you, and their decisions are as much regarded. We have among us no exalted villains above the control of our laws. Daring wickedness here is never allowed to triumph over helpless innocence. The estates of widows and orphans are never devoured by enterprising swindlers. We have no robbery under the pretext of law. ~Joseph Brant (Thayendanegea) - Mohawk
-
It is not just the law it is the whole democratic system it is twisted from the feet up Money dictates all yes if you are wrong pay the price. The whole system needs needs to be looked at.
-
Nice job
-
An industry that does not need to exist.
-
Legalize drugs and half of this goes away. I believe Amsterdam has legalized all drugs and they actually had a significant drop in crime. This is all about the business of crime. Messed up system.
-
Among lots of things. Bail is a joke in the US. Anyone know ounce you pay that bond, do you receive it back once you abide by the conditions??
-
What is not Broken in America
-
It's economic discrimination.
-
Where I live it's 15%.
-
This is disgusting.
-
401k?
-
Another words crime pays.
-
"Land of the free"
-
how old is the parot? hmmm.
