1-minute explainer video: What is bail, and why do justice advocates want to reform (or repeal) it?
Video series funded by the Ohio State Bar Foundation
Ohio’s bail system does not promote public safety— it simply allows some people to buy their release, regardless of what threat they may pose. It is also burdensome to taxpayers who end up footing the bill for long, unnecessary jail stays. Bail reform is needed to end wealth-based detention, bring Ohio’s courts into compliance with the United States Constitution, save money, and truly promote public safety.
Looking for a new podcast? “The Steep Road to Freedom” is a podcast produced by the ACLU of Ohio about work to reform and ultimately eliminate the cash bail system in Ohio.
(Listen for OJPC staff on Episode 3!)
Ohio’s reliance on cash bail has perpetuated a two-tiered system of justice: one for the wealthy and one for the rest of us. We can’t end mass incarceration without ending the bail system as we know it.
Research shows people held pretrial experience harsher case outcomes than compared to those able to secure their own release. This unequal treatment—freedom for those with money, jail for those without—is neither fair nor effective.
Ohio’s reliance on cash bail has created a two-tiered system of justice where wealthier people accused of a crime go free while poorer people accused of the same crime stay behind bars. This animated short breaks down Ohio’s cash bail system.