Press release from the American Civil Liberties Union:
The American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina will host “Ending Cash Bail: A Community Conversation about Criminal Justice Reform” in Hendersonville on Saturday, July 14.
The event is part of the civil liberties group’s statewide campaign to raise awareness about the injustice of cash bail, which forces people who have not been convicted of a crime to pay for their freedom or stay in jail before their trial. In North Carolina, 86% of people in local jails have not been convicted of a crime, according to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics.
WHAT: “Ending Cash Bail: A Community Conversation about Criminal Justice Reform” featuring a panel of community advocates to discuss statewide efforts to overhaul our broken criminal justice system and the growing movement to end cash bail.
WHO: Criminal justice experts and community advocates from the ACLU of North Carolina, Southerners on New Ground, and All of Us or None
WHERE: Sanctuary Brewing Company, 147 1st Avenue E, Hendersonville, NC 28792
WHEN: Saturday, July 14, at 12:30 p.m.
The event is free and open to the public. Spanish interpretation services will be provided.
More information about the event is available at go.peoplepower.org/event/action_attend/14341 or by contacting Molly Rivera at 919-438-0492 or mrivera@acluofnc.org.
86% of people sitting in jail have not been convicted? Sounds about right, it’s a jail not a prison. I expect the people who make up the 86% are constantly changing as people are released on bail and new arrests are being processed. Definition of Jail by Merriam-Webster – a place of confinement for persons held in lawful custody; specifically : such a place under the jurisdiction of a local government (such as a county) for the confinement of persons awaiting trial or those convicted of minor crimes. I would ask the ACLU why they have not come out against the government for using chain-less shackles (ankle monitors) on defendants released from custody pending trial. Monitoring one’s every movement even though they have not been convicted of a crime seems like a clear violation of someone’s civil rights .