New York City Bail Bonds Option Elimianted for Non-Violent Criminals

New York City plans to eliminate a bail bonds option for lower-risk criminals.

According to the Associated Press, the city's plan will allow judges to replace money-bail for about 3,000 non-violent criminals. Instead of having to be bailed out of jail, the defendants will be supervised.

This option allows criminals to go home while being monitored by receiving regular check-ins and text-message reminders. The $18-million city plan also connects criminals with drug or behavioral therapy when needed.

Inmate advocates have criticized the bail bonds option for targeting poor people. Last year, officials recommended inmate reform when a mentally ill homeless man died in a hot Rikers Island jail cell. The man was not able to raise $2,500 for his posted bail.

Last month, a 22-year-old man killed himself after being released from jail. Kalief Browder was arrested when he was 16 years old and held at Rikers for three years. The boy was unable to pay $3,000 for his bail after being accused of stealing a backpack.

Browder was attacked by inmates and guards and held in solitary confinement. Charges against him were eventually dropped while his tragic fate also sparked a debate pushing for better inmate reform.

A criminal justice coordinator for Mayor Bill de Blasio, Elizabeth Glazer, acknowledged that there has been a long need for inmate reform.

"I think the basic principle is that Kalief Browder and other cases have begun to signify this (need for reform) in the public eye," she said. "We want to focus on risk to be the determining factor to decide if someone will be in or out; and it has to be risk, not money."

The court usually issues bail to defendants to ensure that they will appear in court every time the Judge requires them to do so, according to NYC Bail. Defendants are charged a percentage of the bail amount with additional costs. In some instances, defendants can offer their property as collateral if they don't have all of the money.

NYC's plan to eliminate bail for low-risk defendants will go in effect next year.