Fayetteville retired judge: Cash bail punishes Black and poor. North Carolina should stop.
People charged with noncapital offenses and probation violations in North Carolina have the right to pretrial release and not remain in jail awaiting trial or during the court proceedings.
In North Carolina there are five types of pretrial release conditions, and judges or magistrates can only use one per instance. Cash bail is the most serious kind in the North Carolina system. Some criminal justice advocates say that under the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, cash bail systems are unconstitutional because they discriminate against the poor.
More: 'It's a matter of learning, not being blind:' Why Cumberland's pretrial release policy was updated
Retired Cumberland County Resident Superior Court Judge Greg Weeks says he has a problem with the way cash bail is implemented in various jurisdictions. He believes there are two factors which should determine whether defendants should be jailed awaiting trial: if they pose harm to the community and whether they are a flight risk.
He also said: “Cash bail disproportionately affects African Americans and other people of color.” Some recent research backs up Weeks’ claim. According to the American Bar Association, when comparing Black and white individuals in one study, Black defendants were 3.6% more likely to be assigned bail, and they received bail amounts that are, on average, $7,280 higher.
Illinois is the first state to fully abolish cash bail. In a 5-2 ruling in July, the state’s highest court overturned a ruling by a Kankakee County judge that ending cash bail was unconstitutional. The nation is watching Illinois’ bold move to remove money from the equation that determines who should and shouldn’t sit in jail awaiting trial. In Robinson v. California, the U.S. Supreme Court held that it is unconstitutional under the Eight Amendment to punish an individual for a status or condition, and arguably, poverty is a status.
More: ‘Like something just insurmountable:' Two Fayetteville groups seek cash bail reform
Ending cash bail would benefit poor communities, especially people of color. Cash bail too often has nothing to do with the crime you’re accused of, but rather how much you can afford to pay.
All she needed was $100
Several years ago, I was working with a local attorney on a case with a drug-addicted Black female defendant who shoplifted $16 worth of merchandise from a drug store. She exited the store and crossed the street when a male store employee chased her down and fought her until the police arrived.
Instead of charging her with misdemeanor shoplifting they charged her with common law robbery. I don’t know for sure, but I guess she was charged with felony common law robbery instead of misdemeanor shoplifting because she fought the store employee.
She was overcharged in my opinion, but the point is she wound up in jail. All she needed was $100 to get out but she didn’t have it and she stayed in jail for one year awaiting trial. At the time the estimated daily cost to jail a Cumberland County inmate was a minimum of $62.50 a day. In the end, taxpayers paid $22,812.50 for someone who couldn’t afford a $100 cash bail.
None of us want criminals to roam free, but there needs to be a better way to employ pretrial release without cash bail.
Troy Williams is a member of The Fayetteville Observer Community Advisory Board. He is a legal analyst and criminal defense investigator. He can be reached at talk2troywilliams@yahoo.com.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Fayetteville writer: NC should follow Illinois lead, stop cash bail
