The Bail Project

09/23/2026

This and every month, we're remembering Kalief Browder – a young man who was falsely arrested, assigned unaffordable cash bail, maintained his innocence, and was forced to suffer three years of pretrial incarceration on Rikers Island only to have his case dismissed and all charges dropped. He ultimately took his own life as a result of the trauma forced upon him.

Kalief's story is a devastating reminder that the costs of pretrial injustice can be irreversible. Among formerly incarcerated people, nearly 20% of suicides occur within one year of release. At The Bail Project, we're working to bring people like Kalief home before trial – so no one has to suffer behind bars simply because they cannot afford bail.

Pretrial support can be life saving. Join us at bailproject.org.

09/17/2026

Right now, someone is sitting in a jail cell – not because of a conviction, but because they can't afford bail. Every day, cash bail keeps people behind bars while jobs vanish, families fracture, and the pressure to plead guilty just to go home becomes unbearable.

But you have the power to make a difference. Every donation to The Bail Project helps free someone trapped in jail and fuels our fight to end wealth-based detention – so fewer people are jailed in the first place.

Freedom shouldn't come with a price tag. Donate today at bailproject.org/donate.

08/28/2026

Most conversations about abortion bans stop at access to care. But what happens after criminalization?

When abortion is criminalized, wealth can determine what happens next. People with financial resources can travel for care and, if they're arrested, often pay bail and return home while awaiting trial. People without that same financial security can spend weeks or months in jail before they've been convicted of anything – risking their health, jobs, housing, and families simply because they can't afford bail.

That's why reproductive justice and bail reform are connected.

Cash bail doesn't just punish poverty. In states that criminalize abortion, it can become another mechanism that deepens the harm of those laws, creating one system of justice for people with money and another for everyone else.

At The Bail Project, we believe no one should lose their freedom simply because they can't afford bail. Ending wealth-based detention is about more than reforming our pretrial system – it's about building a future where people's rights and freedoms aren't determined by the size of their bank account.

08/25/2026

Millions of children will go back to school missing a parent due to incarceration. Of these children, over 150,000 have a parent in jail because they couldn’t afford their bail.

Black families are disproportionately harmed. By age 14, about 25% of Black children in the U.S. will have experienced a parent being incarcerated compared to just 4% of white children. The long-term impacts on childhood development is staggering. Resarch shows that having an incarcerated parent damages a child’s physical and mental health, income and employment possibilities, and future relationships.

You can reunite families this back to school season. Join us at the link in our bio.

08/19/2026

At 27, Austin’s days revolved around getting his kids to school, working, and playing semipro football on weekends. He was building something steady: a routine, a family life, a future.

Then, an arrest interrupted everything.

Unable to afford his bail, Austin stayed trapped in jail. He lost his job and bills began piling up. That strain spilled into his relationship with his wife.

When The Bail Project connected with Austin, “it was like a saving grace,” he said.

After his release, Austin attended every court date and followed every instruction. He was determined to keep his record clean, not just for himself, but for his children, who have autism and ADHD.

Austin’s case has since been completely dismissed. His message is clear. “People deserve a second chance.”

Austin came to understand what defines the American jail population: pretrial detention is often less about risk and more about resources.

08/18/2026

Mental illness is not a crime – but our justice system treats it like one.

People with mental illnesses are ten times more likely to be incarcerated than hospitalized. And jail cuts them off from the treatment, medication, and support they need to recover.

Unaffordable bail can trap people in the criminal justice system instead of giving them a chance to get help.

At The Bail Project, we pay bail for free and connect people to free voluntary services – including mental health support – so fewer people are kept in cages instead of receiving care. Learn more and join us at the link in our bio.

08/12/2026

Andrea’s children spent twelve days without their primary caregiver while she was trapped in jail. The hardships they faced left lasting scars.

Her five-year-old cried every time she went to the bathroom. One of her sons didn't want to go to school. "He was depressed," Andrea said. "He felt out of place because his provider wasn't there." And Andrea risked missing her oldest son's high school graduation.

08/10/2026

Normally when you miss an appointment, like for the doctor or the dentist, you're able to reschedule without any consequences. But for people in the pretrial system, the stakes are far higher.

Just one missed court appearance can cost someone a lifetime of freedom. But research shows that most people who miss court dates aren't intentionally evading prosecution. Missed court dates are often the result of the routine chaos of life – forgetting a date, childcare needs, transportation issues, or confusion about scheduling.

But there is a better way. At The Bail Project, we've proven that court notification systems are an effective way to help clients return to court.

Court notification systems alert people about their upcoming court dates through text, email, and phone reminders. These notifications are critical to a well functioning pretrial system. And with hundreds of thousands of people in jail for as little as a missed court date, this is an issue we can no longer wait to address.

The Bail Project is fighting to implement court notifications in jurisdictions across the country. Learn more:

Court date reminders save time and money and help keep people out of jail. It’s time for every state to use them.

08/05/2026

Terry was on a long roadtrip when the police stopped him in a retail parking lot.

“I’m getting ready to walk out my door to go take off,” Terry remembers. “The police come by... they were like, ‘You need to step outside,’ and I’m like, ‘Hold on, you yelling and screaming at me.'"

The 13 days Terry spent in jail took more than his liberty. In the chaos of the police encounter, he lost his two cats, Pearl Feather and Nora.

"I'm trying to figure out if I'm still stuck in the Matrix," he said. "But I'm still on my journey."

Pretrial detention took more than Terry’s liberty; it dismantled the fragile stability of his life on the road.

08/03/2026

55 years ago this summer, Nixon declared drug abuse "public enemy number one," launching an offensive that didn't just expand our prisons – it broke our pretrial system.

The War on Drugs dramatically expanded the use of cash bail and normalized incarcerating legally innocent people simply because they can’t afford bail.

Right now, 108,000 people are sitting in local jails on drug charges without a conviction. They are legally innocent, yet they are sitting behind bars instead of receiving treatment, cut off from their families, their jobs, and their stability.

We have now spent over half a century investing heavily in pretrial punishment. What if we invested in people – in treatment, support, and community stability – instead?

In her latest piece, The Bail Project’s Nicole Zayas Manzano breaks down how the War on Drugs weaponized cash bail and turned local jails into warehouses for the unconvicted.

Read more:

The impact of the War on Drugs continues to be felt in how it dramatically expanded the use of pretrial detention and bail.