Bail Reform: A Conversation That's Missing in Today's Topics
- Dec 30, 2025
- 3 min read
Over the last few years, I've found myself becoming deeply involved in true crime. Usually when I mention this to someone, they are either eager to dive into the darker parts of the subject or they're not interested at all. For me, though, true crime has introduced so many different parts of the justice system that desperately need more awareness.
Through listening, reading, and learning, I've become increasingly aware of the plethora of mistakes made in these systems. My interest has shifted toward ways to be involved in searching for missing indigenous women, supporting families after the loss of a loved one, learning from the work of organizations like the Innocence Project, and, more recently, coming to understand bail reform.
One day, as I was working, I listened to an episode of Women and Crime, hosted by Dr. Meghan Sacks and Dr. Amy Shlosberg—both criminologists and professors. Their work has brought many issues to my attention that I hadn't previously considered or been aware of. I want to be clear that I don't agree with all of their opinions in every case, but I deeply value the conversations they spark.
Their episode titled "Race and Crime in America" is where I learned how the cash bail systems function—and how it disproportionately impacts BIPOC individuals. Bail amounts are often set significantly higher for them, or bail is denied altogether. Most often than not, people simply cannot gather the required funds. And even when they can, accessing large sums of cash takes time within most banking systems. There is no winning.
In these moments, someone isn't just facing criminal charges—they're also being punished for living below the poverty line. Poverty itself becomes criminalized.
So what can be done to solve this issue?
It all comes down to having honest conversations regarding public safety. How would releasing someone possibly affect the public or ones community? A traffic stop that escalates disastrously resulting in an arrest is not the same as murder, yet our systems often treat vastly different situations with the same blunt tools.
Illinois became the first state to eliminate cash bail with the Pretrial Fairness Act, passed in 2021 and implemented in 2023. A quick Google search of what this act changed was described as: "making pretrial release presumptive unless a judge determines someone poses a flight risk or danger, requiring clear evidence for detention."
Current bail reform landscapes:
No cash bail: Illinois, New Jersey, New Mexico, D.C.
Reduced, limited use of cash bail: Kentucky, Maryland, Colorado, Arizona, Alaska
Reforms in progress: Indiana, California, New York
Cash bail remains in place in all other states.
I don't have a question for you this time, but I do want to note this for those who visit my blog from Pennsylvania: cash bail is still used in this state. Please consider contacting your State Rep and advocating for change.
***I would also recommend episode 293: The Woman Edna Mahan - (Live Recording)
Three women who served time in an all female prison share their stories.
Sources:
Episode 19: Race and Crime in America - Women and Crime
No Cash Bail States 2025 - World Population Review
Recommended readings from Women and Crimes podcast:
Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria? And Other Conversations About Race/Beverley Daniel Tatum/2017
White Rage/Carol Anderson/2017
The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness/Michelle Alexander/2010
Just Mercy/Bryan Stevenson/2014
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