How Money Bail Killed Sandra Bland
How Money Bail Killed Sandra Bland ~ Those of you who have followed me and what I write know that I have been passionate about what happened to Sandra Bland from the onset. Those who are close to me will tell you that Sandra’s death, though it was definitely not the first, had a massive impact on me. I cannot completely explain why this particular failure of the justice system has had such an impact on me, but it has. This is not to suggest that the death of Mike Brown, Trayvon Martin, Timir Rice and so many more, has not registered on my emotional and psychological radar, because they have. But, there was something about the manner in which Sandra suffered, physically and psychologically leading up to her death that disturbed my peace a level that is inexplicable.
Unlike so many, I did not take the most popular approach in addressing what happened to her. While I absolutely believe that there was wrongdoing from the beginning, I did not stop at what was presented on the surface. My background in psychology has afforded me an immense appreciation of the force of life and the impact it can have on the emotional and psychological stability of an individual. Every day, I encounter people who suffer in silence with mental disorders, such as bi-polar disorder and depression. The reason that they are suffering in silence is because of the negative stigma associated with being diagnosed with a mental illness. I literally spent hours breaking down audio tapes of phone calls and voice message left by Sandra — studying her tone and speech.
At the end of the day, I cannot speak to all that happened to her the day she died, so I will not submit conjecture, but what I can do is say that the days leading up to her death were stressful, dissappointing and uncertain. People she thought she could depend on let her down. Being under a $5,000 bond had basically locked Sandra into a system of darkness and despair. The use of money bail is actually big business, and it is just one more way that the system exploits the poor. It also leads to people feeling pressured to accept plea deals for cases they could actually fight and win if the were not locked up.
I received the following letter from an organization that I joined in order to remain abreast of different issues in the black community. Personally, I don’t place a lot of gravity on protests and petitions that are not underwritten by economic power and specific spending agendas; however, a lot of the issues that are plaguing the black community are filtered through this organization, so I became a member.
The point that is made in the letter is valid, and it should become a point of focus as we develop strategies on how to counter mass incarceration, wrongful convictions and more.
When I examined the process that led up to the death of Sandra Bland, the money bail issue played a major role in the reason that she is dead, without giving consideration to the actual direct cause of death. If there was a better bail system, she would not have still been in jail on Monday morning, which is significant for a number of reasons.
With all of the lobbying that is taking place on behalf of “bail for profit” lobbying groups, the chance of seeing any change in the area of outlawing the practice in Texas is not strong, at least not at this point, but what we need to do is create our own funding system to ensure fair treatment of blacks.
While there are still so many questions surrounding the death of Sandra, one thing is certain, the broken bail system ensured that she was in the situation that she was in much longer than she should have been, and definitely much longer than she would have been had she been rich. ~ Dr. Rick Wallace, Ph.D.
Dear Rick,
This week, it was announced that a grand jury in Waller County, Texas will not indict anyone in connection to the death of Sandra Bland. Although the grand jury continues to investigate other aspects of the incident, including Sandra’s arrest, it is devastating to see another Black woman’s life lost in police custody and no one is held accountable. We continue to stand with Sandra’s family and uplift their demand for individual accountability but we also recognize that she would be alive today were it not for the corrupt, exploitative, and discriminatory system of money bail that exists in Waller County and around our country.
For years, America’s broken and discriminatory money bail system has been a well kept secret – but the tragic deaths of Sandra Bland, Kindra Chapman, Ralkina Jones and Jamycheal Mitchell have shown a national spotlight on the reality that for Black people, money bail can be the difference between life and death. A number of places — Oregon, Kentucky, Virginia, Illinois, DC — have already banned for-profit bail and it’s time for every state in the country to do the same.1
While the process varies slightly by state or city, bail bonds generally work like this: When a person is arrested, a judge decides whether or not they will be released prior to trial and if so on what conditions. In recent years, money bail has become far more common, which means judges require people to pay in order to be released. According to the latest data, the average bail amount is $90,000, and for low income Black folks – who face 35% higher bail than white people for the same charges – it’s often an impossible price to pay for your freedom.23 Right now,there are more than 730,000 people in jail simply because they cannot afford to pay bail and they are more likely to lose their jobs, lose custody of their children, accept an unjust plea bargain and be convicted than people not incarcerated before trial.4
We didn’t get here by accident. In the past 20 years, the average bail amount and the number of for-profit bail bond companies have exploded due to the American Bail Coalition’s lobbying efforts within the American Legislative Exchange Council.5 Together, legislators and corporations have passed bills that require judges to use money bail instead of effective alternative pre-trial services, such as notifying someone of an up and coming court date by mail, which has been proven to be even more effective than money bail.6 The United States and Philippines are the only two countries in the world with major bail bond industries; in Canada you can face criminal charges similar to obstruction of justice equal or bribing a juror for acting as a bail bondsmen.7
Sandra Bland is the face of money bail in America. Last month, more than 3,000 ColorOfChange members donated to hire a private investigator to investigate systemic racism in Waller County after her tragic death. We uncovered a corrupt and possibly illegal bail bond system that played a key role her death.8 After Officer Brian Encinia assaulted and unjustly arrested Sandra, she was jailed and held on an exorbitant $5,000 bail. She then called the local bail bondsmen — a man named Joe Booker — who local officials say is likely bribing jail staff for “clients,” which means he is turning a profit off the backs of Black folks targeted by discriminatory policing.9 While we still don’t know everything that led to Sandra’s death, it’s possible that she would be alive today if she hadn’t been wrongfully arrested and locked in jail on bail.
Thanks and peace,
Scott, Rashad, Arisha, Enchanta and the rest of the ColorOfChange team
References,
1. “Here’s What Sandra Bland’s Death Says About Our Broken Bail System” MotherJones 7-27-2015
http://act.colorofchange.org/
2. “Bail Fail: Why the U.S. Should End the Practice of Using Money for Bail,” Justice Policy Institute 09-11-2012
http://act.colorofchange.org/
3. “Illegal Globally, Bail for Profit Remains in U.S.,” New York Times 01-28-2008
http://act.colorofchange.org/
4. “Illegal Globally, Bail for Profit Remains in U.S.,” New York Times 01-28-2008
http://act.colorofchange.org/
5. “Race and Prison,” Drug War Facts 12-31-2013
http://act.colorofchange.org/
6. “Illegal Globally, Bail for Profit Remains in U.S.,” New York Times 01-28-2008
http://act.colorofchange.org/
7. “Illegal Globally, Bail for Profit Remains in U.S.,” New York Times 01-28-2008 http://act.colorofchange.org/
8. “Inside the Wild, Shadowy, and Highly Lucrative Bail Industry” Mother Jones May/June 2014 http://act.
9. “Illegal Globally, Bail for Profit Remains in U.S.,” New York Times 01-28-2008
http://act.colorofchange.org/
