What was the amount of the original bail that he couldn’t pay? I’m guessing it was out of proportion to the alleged crime, which is unconstitutional.
It’s a shame that he wasn’t able to get some influential advocates until after the fact.
You all are absolutely correct to use the term “debtors prison” because that’s what we have returned to in this country. What are we going to do about it?
TIME article on solitary confinement from a former innocent prisoner:
http://time.com/3915168/solitary-confinement/
It’s difficult for me to read these things.
Meanwhile, back at Rikers, another suicide by a young prisoner:
From that last article:
“Also on Wednesday, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that the private company that provides medical and mental health care in city jails would not have its contract renewed when it expires on Dec. 31. Instead, the city’s public hospital system will take over care from Corizon Health, the mayor said”
So…do they think that is going to make it better? Or just cheaper?
Why do they have people who have committed minor crimes such as parole violation, and children, at Rikers? I wonder who is considered responsible for this? Probably nobody is taking any responsibility, whatsoever.
@busdriver, at least they won’t be skimping care to try to squeeze a profit out of it. Not to minimize the difficulty of the job.
They are unlikely to do worse:
I completely agree that FAR TOO MANY people in the US are incarcerated, especially for non-violent crimes.
I recently read about these grants:
My off the cuff cynical sounding comment was to use the money to post bail for people in jail who couldn’t afford their bail. By definition you would be reducing the number of people “unnecessarily behind bars”, but I am sure the grantors have something more grandiose in mind, and expect to fund a “study” that will make recommendations. I like my idea a lot more now.
$150k for bails would get 20-50 people out. But $150K can pay for a number of legal interns who can help sort through the paperwork backlog and prioritize processing of cases.
Actually, bail bonds are generally 10% of the amount that bail is set at and supposed to be proportionate to the offense and means available to the defendant, as well as likelihood that D will show up for court appearances. Only if the defendant fails to make a court appearance does bondsman and then D have to pay the other 90% on the bail amount.
Good electronic monitors could help insure that nonviolent offenders show up to court appearances, even if they don’t have the means to post bail.
Even more infuriating when you contrast this story with stories like this:
http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/05/us/texas-affluenza-teen/
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/04/01/delaware-s-affluenza-case-affects-justice-too.html
$300–10% of $3,000–is a lot for many people to come up with on short notice. And don’t you have to have something to put up as security, like a house or car or whatever?
Of course, the circumstances were sufficiently bogus that they both should have been let go in the first place. His problem was that he had already been persuaded to cop a plea and thus was on probation.
The $150K grant could easily pay the $300 10% bail on many, many cases, which is a lot less than the $3k. The person does have to have something of value they can pledge that would come into play if they don’t make their court appearance.
When the bail is unreasonably high, defense counsel is supposed to move that the court reduce it, especially if the defendant is not a flight risk and the infraction is minor.
Is our Constitution really only fit for toilet paper? The answer is yes, apparently, if those in power decide to turn a blind eye to blatant violations of the protections guaranteed in that document. The Sixth Amendment Right to Speedy trial? If a child can be locked away in a maximum security prison for three whole years without trial (for allegedly stealing a backpack?!) it can happen to any of us. Don’t fool yourself into thinking it can’t. I find this case truly frightening.
@HImom, I doubt that most low-income apartment dwellers in NYC have anything that is worth $3,000. They are highly unlikely to own a car.
@poetsheart, the New Yorker article describes the system NYC is or was using to get around that in some detail. The prosecutorial clock stops running frequently. It’s like one of those football games where the last 3 minutes takes 45 minutes to play. 
Since we have created this ludicrous situation where the system is inundated with petty crimes that shouldn’t even be crimes–drug offenses figuring prominently, as well as the disgraceful fine/debtor situations set up in some states–the courts are overwhelmed. In this case, the judge should have thrown it out promptly and put him back on probation. At home. The prosecutor should have dropped the charges long since, when the complainant changed his mind about when this supposed crime actually happened.
The irony of this is huge. Women can’t get rape cases prosecuted. Can you imagine if a woman came in and said “I was raped last night,” and then said, “No, actually it happened two weeks ago.” How long would it take for them to tell her they were not proceeding due to lack of evidence? Yet they were unwilling to drop the case against this poor kid.
It is criminal.
And no accountability…no heads to roll.
And people wonder why a black kid would run from the cops rather than be hauled in for any reason…
@DonnaL, thanks. That is a magnificent piece.