New York teen Kalief Browder spent three years on the infamous Rikers Island without being convicted of a crime. In 2010 at the age of 16, he was arrested for allegedly stealing a bag – a crime he insisted he didn’t commit.
He spent more than 1,000 days on Rikers awaiting trial. Two years of that time was spent in solitary confinement where he attempted to end his life a few times. He eventually found success.
On June 6, 2015, Browder committed suicide.
There were various reasons why Browder remained in jail for so long, including a hard-to-reach, court-appointed attorney; an overwhelmed criminal court system; and a system that allows defense attorneys to drag out cases to improve their odds of winning.
Yet one of the key reasons Browder remained behind bars for so long was the fact that he couldn’t afford to make bail.
“It’s not like math or science. The law is applied by people and that human system is error prone,” said Frances Watson, clinical professor of law at the Robert H. McKinney School of Law at IUPUI. “You could be innocent, have a good lawyer and still be convicted. It’s flawed because we are.”
She sincerely believes Browder’s situation is unfortunate, but said with hope that state bail laws differ. Bail’s overall purpose is to ensure the defendant appears in court.
In Indiana, you have a right to receive a bail amount and then are released until proven guilty. Watson notes Indiana’s county judges apply the rules differently because of that human element to the law.
In the Hoosier state, there is a matrix in place that determines one’s bail amount. However various circumstances could alter the cost.
“There’s variables like the nature of the crime, the person’s criminal history or if they have multiple cases pending,” said Watson.
An alleged criminal’s finances are taken into consideration when setting the bail amount. Watson said wealthier people’s bail is set at higher amounts. Most defendants cannot afford the bail and purchase a 10 percent surety bond. The payee contacts a bail bondsman and pays a non-refundable 10 percent of the bail amount.
“Most bails start no lower than $2,500 so $250 is owed to me,” said Barbara Roach, owner of Barbara Roach Bail Bonds.
“In some rural Indiana counties they don’t let anyone out until they see the judge. It doesn’t matter if you have the ability to make bail. The judge makes you wait until Monday morning,” added Watson.
If the defendant skips his trail, the bail bondsman is responsible. To avoid accountability, the bondsman finds and produces the defendant.
“We leave the field work for the men, but I could skip trace behind the desk. Social media is a prime way,” said Shantel Jefferson, office manager of Barbara Roach Bail Bonds.
Experts say there is a disproportionate amount of people who are arrested that are minority and/or living in poverty.
“But in these rural counties, it’s not based on race. Its based on poverty,” said Watson.
Her colleague, Carlton Waterhouse, professor of law at the Robert H. McKinney School of Law at IUPUI understands but maintains that race is a factor applied well before one is sent to prison.
“To the degree that it’s racially biased, the bail process wasn’t created that way. It’s the way it’s applied,” said Waterhouse.
He said historically low-income minorities are more likely to be arrested, convicted, have inadequate representation and have the inability to make bail.
“And in Indiana, we can only take cash or credit card,” said Roach, who advises families to take measures such as pawning valuables to collect the money.
“They get it done. You’d be surprised,” said Jefferson.
Though there are countless individuals who sit in jail cells daily because they cannot make bail, experts say justice advocates should take a deeper look at initial reasons why Blacks are arrested and jailed so frequently.
“In America, people are disproportionately poor and the target of police investigations and arrests. You don’t have to have a bail system that’s racially biased. You have a criminal enforcement system that’s biased,” said Waterhouse.
He said the more people sent to the system, the more they deal with the intricacies of the judicial system.
