I was on one of my many daily Zoom calls when the texts and group messages started pouring across my phone screen. All across the social media accounts of Nashville advocacy groups, the message was clear: “Davidson judges deny motion to release inmates vulnerable to COVID-19.” This decision comes in the wake of a large outcry from criminal justice advocates and public health officials across the country urging our government to start freeing as many individuals from our prisons and jails as we can before they become overrun with the virus.
The Davidson County decision denied the petition filed on April 3rd by Nashville Public Defender Martesha Johnson, who asked that the following classes of individuals be released:
- Those deemed to be particularly vulnerable to Covid-19 by the CDC
- Individuals “charged with or sentenced to non-violent misdemeanors or Class C, D, or E felonies if the underlying felonies qualify for probation”
- Individuals being held for technical violations (i.e. probation violation, not a new offense)
- Individuals whose sentences expire in 60 days or less
According to the same WSMV article, the judges who denied the motion ask that the District Attorney’s Office continue to proactively review and approve requests for release from jail where possible. However, the sad truth for many is that this review will not come fast enough.
This decision is especially concerning when we consider what has been happening in Chicago’s prisons and jails. The New York Times named Chicago’s Cook County Jail a “Top U.S. Hot Spot” and “the nation’s largest-known source of coronavirus infections.” This outbreak followed the positive test results of two individuals incarcerated at the county jail on March 23, with the number of cases rising to 350 in a little over two weeks. However, as the Times states, the actual number of cases is likely much higher than the current 353, since very few of the 4,500 individuals incarcerated at the jail have been tested.
Without engaging in mass release as advocated for by the Nashville Defender’s Office, Nashville likely faces a similar or even worse path. Many Nashville advocacy groups have taken to social media to share their reactions in the hours following this decision, including the Nashville Community Bail Fund (NCBF), a nonprofit which helps release individuals from jail who cannot afford to post bail.
A tweet by the NCBF reads, “It’s hard to find words. Given the choice, our courts chose cages, illness, and likely death over justice and mercy. These judges and DA are elected. Remember this.” In a following tweet in the same thread, the fund cites that 81% of individuals held in Davidson’s county jail are being detained pretrial, meaning they have not been convicted of any crime. Based on the NCBF’s own data, upwards of 50% of these individuals will have their cases dismissed or not prosecuted. The bail fund’s response to the denial of this petition is grim: “Now, who knows how many innocent Nashvillians may die before their case is heard.”
When judges like those in Nashville deny motions like this, it can be hard to know where to turn. Though ideally our government officials would be taking steps to decarcerate themselves, there is one place we can turn: to community bail funds like the NCBF.
According to the Immigrant Freedom Fund, the Bail Fund Network (a network of 60+ community bail funds nationwide) has spent a total of over $2 million to bail individuals out of jail in the past two weeks. The Immigrant Freedom Fund notes that this would not be necessary if government officials would take greater action. However, I at least remain hopeful that in times like these we can count on our communities to come together to protect each other, especially as previous injustices, like bail inequality, become exacerbated.
For those who are not familiar with the concept of bail, money bail is the amount posted for an individual that they must pay in order to be released pretrial. This money amount is supposed to act as insurance that individuals will not try to flee the law as the bail amount will be returned upon the individual’s attendance of all required court dates. According to the Nashville Community Bail Fund’s website, the fund works as a revolving pool of funds that are used to pay the bail of clients who cannot afford to post their own bail. This allows the client to return home to their family and job. Then, once the client attends their court dates, the cash bail is returned to the fund in order to help secure more individuals’ release.*
Though these community funds recycle themselves, the more money deposited in the fund, the more individuals that can be released at any given time. This is especially important now as we need to free these individuals as quickly as possible to save them from a fate similar to those in Chicago’s jails. Additionally, as court dates continue to get pushed back in order to comply with social distancing orders, the rate at which money gets returned to these funds continues to decrease.
The Nashville Community Bail Fund has set up a response to the COVID-19 crisis on their webpage. Here people can donate money to the fund through PayPal and contact the NCBF if they have a loved one who is currently detained pretrial. The National Bail Fund Network has also set up a COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund which individuals can donate to on their website. A list of local bail funds can also be found on the National Bail Fund Network’s Directory of Community Bail Funds if you would like to support a fund in your own community.
In the face of government inaction, it is important for us as community members to make every effort we can to provide for the safety of those around us. Individuals are supposed to be innocent until proven guilty. If we want to protect low-income individuals trapped in our nation’s jails, 80% of whom have not even been convicted of the crime they are charged with, supporting community bail funds is more important now than ever.
*Currently the Nashville Community Bail Fund has filed a lawsuit against the Davidson County Criminal Court’s use of a local rule that forces the individual posting bail to sign a form allowing the court to subtract future fees from the bail amount. The Court will not allow the individual to post bail if they refuse to sign this form. The NCBF used to be exempt from this rule until last year. Though the model described above is still the general model used by bail funds, this local rule has depleted the Nashville Community Bail Fund’s total pool of money by subtracting fees from the original bail amount.
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Powerful piece! Keep fighting as change is all there is right now!
Well done Emma! You captured what everyone needs to know about money bail and how judges contribute to the extraction of wealth from poor communities. Thanks!