Across the commonwealth, too many people are incarcerated simply because they are too poor to post bail. According to Pennsylvania law, wealth-based detention should not exist – yet, unaffordable cash bail continues to drive pretrial detention. How can this be? The answer is MDJs.
As the actors who set bail, MDJs are both a part of the problem and the solution to creating any potential reform. Cash bail as a driver of pretrial detention could end today if MDJs follow the law and set money bail in amounts that people can afford.
Join us live on the ACLU-PA Facebook page for a panel discussion on the evening of Tuesday, April 27, at 6:30 p.m. to hear from criminal legal reform advocates and community experts about MDJs and the campaign to end unaffordable cash bail in Pennsylvania.
Panelists:
Malik Neal, Philadelphia Bail Fund
Samantha Murphy, DHS
Dena Stanley, Trans United
Kat Patterson, Activist/Formerly Incarcerated Person
Moderated by Tierra Bradford, ACLU-PA Criminal Justice and Policy Advocate