Week two of President Donald Trump’s federal takeover of Washington, D.C., reached a new level after he signed an executive order getting rid of cashless bail– a jail reform system in place since 1992. Critics say the order undermines decades of progress, and ultimately, Black and brown people will suffer the most.
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The cashless bail system gives arrestees the chance to return home while they await trial — unlike cash bail, which requires a monetary payment before release. The Root spoke to an expert, who said the consequences of this unprecedented change will be brutal.
“You should never be locked up based on how much money you have,” Alexa Van Brunt, the director of the Illinois office the MacArthur Justice Center and the Civil Rights Litigation Clinic at Northwestern Law School, told The Root. She said D.C.’s cashless bail system acts as a lighthouse for other cities and states, like Illinois, which have followed in the District’s footsteps.
Cashless bail represents a new age of progress, according to Van Brunt. The president on the other hand called it a “disaster,” during a Monday (Aug. 25) press conference. He added, “It’s been a horrible thing for crime, especially violent crime.” But in truth, the statistics tell a different story.
“The data in jurisdictions that have gotten rid of cash bail shows that it doesn’t negatively impact safety,” Van Brunt contested. “In fact, crime rates in parts of Illinois have actually fallen since cash bill was eliminated,” she continued of her state.
In 2023, Illinois became the first state to eliminate cash bail. In fact, Van Brunt said this was thanks to D.C., which set the example in 1992. As Trump continues his federal takeover of the District, his motivations against cashless bail seem to be mostly political, Van Brunt told us.
“I think this is just another way of getting at blue states like so many of his plans,” Van Brunt said. “Whether it’s tackling or going after sanctuary cities; whether it’s sending the National Guard in to places like D.C., LA and now presumably Chicago.”
In the District, 87 percent of inmates are Black, according to the Department of Corrections. If you take away cashless bail, experts say this statistic will only worsen. Cities without cashless bail already struggle with overcrowding, repeat offenders and an overall decrease in public safety. In a city like D.C., where overcrowding is already an issue, reverting to cash bail means congested jails, which will ultimately impact taxpayers’ pockets.
“Many more Black and brown people are going to be in the jail,” Van Brunt predicted. “It’s a terrible outcome anyway you look at it.” The biggest critics of cashless bail argue it leads violent offenders to return to the streets without consequence, but Van Brunt said that’s no where close to the truth.
“Every system that has moved away from cash like D.C., like Illinois and also like the federal system — which Donald Trump does not seem to understand — uses instead a risk analysis when deciding whether somebody should be detained pre-trial,” she said. “Judges, based on what prosecutors present to them, look at whether that person is a flight risk, meaning are they at risk of not showing up for court, or are they a public safety risk,” she continued.
In order to fight back, Van Brunt urged folks to get involved in their communities and to organize. “Organizers, advocates, lawyers who have been fighting in the past will have to fight it again in the courts,” she added. “Holding somebody in jail or prison simply because they are not wealthy violates the 14th Amendment… It is not legal.”
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