If you’re accused of a crime in this country, you have a right to be released until your trial. Nearly 90% of people arrested though don’t have the few hundred bucks to pay a bail bondsman.
Tuesday, we’re talking about making bail. If you’re accused of a crime in this country, you have a right to be released until your trial, but nearly 90% of people arrested don’t have the few hundred bucks to pay a bail bondsman. Legal scholar Shima Baradaran Baughman says bail has become unfair, unconstitutional, and an oppressive tool against minorities and the poor. Baughman’s new book looks at the history of bail, how we got to this point, and what can be done to reform the system.
Shima Baradaran Baughman is a professor at the University of Utah's SJ Quinney College of Law. Her book is called The Bail Book: A Comprehensive Look at Bail in America's Criminal Justice System [Indie bookstores|Amazon]
