IL Bail Reform Results, “Domestic Violence to Prison Pipeline” & More

"People are coming to court and communities are keeping more money …which was a reason for the reform."

It’s been one year since the passage of historic pretrial reform in Illinois, and since then, the state has shown that reform can be effective without compromising safety or court compliance. Illinois’ groundbreaking Pretrial Fairness Act slashed jail populations by 14% in Cook County (Chicago) and up to 25% in rural areas, marking a seismic shift in the state’s criminal justice system. The elimination of cash bail saved $6.7 million in avoided bond costs, while failure-to-appear rates and crime levels have held steady, dispelling fears of public safety risks.

"[T]hese visions of self-defense have yet to adequately imagine is a spouse in a situation in which she is attacked, repeatedly, with increasing severity by another person with an equal right to be in that home."
 
This week, the Marshall Project published a piece on the “domestic abuse to prison pipeline,” which highlights a survey of women convicted of murder or manslaughter in California that shows nearly three out of four were abused in the year prior to their offense. Some experts argue that our current self-defense laws do not adequately account for crimes committed by those experiencing or attempting to escape abusive situations and that more needs to be done to mitigate punishment for domestic abuse survivors.

"As long as it’s not harmful to anybody or society, I think everybody deserves a second chance."

In Harris County, Texas, bail reform measures that originally passed in 2019 have spared thousands of low-level offenders from languishing in jail, reducing misdemeanor cases from 61,000 in 2015 to 50,000 in 2022. Driven by a federal lawsuit, the reform has also addressed racial disparities by implementing measures to reduce the disproportionate arrest rates of Black residents, who account for 40% of misdemeanor arrests despite making up only 20% of the population. 

"By further tailoring our approach for justice-involved women, we can prevent crime, strengthen families, and break intergenerational cycles of victimization and incarceration." 

An op-ed penned by US Attorney General Loretta Lynch highlights how the incarceration rate for women in the U.S. skyrocketed by 617% between 1982 and 2018, with 181,000 women behind bars in 2022. Many of these women come from backgrounds of poverty, trauma, and abuse. She also notes that their incarceration has a strong ripple effect on families, as children of incarcerated mothers are 12 times more likely to end up in foster care.

"Our hope is that this new program will bring an end to needless human suffering, take pressure off sheriffs who don’t have the training or resources to handle these situations, and make families and communities more stable."

Mississippi's new MacArthur Forensic Navigator Program aims to connect jailed people to mental health services. The program helps judges, prosecutors, and families secure treatment for mentally ill detainees. Supported by Arnold Ventures, the two-year endeavor aims to revolutionize the approach to mental health care in Mississippi's correctional facilities, minimizing care delays and fostering safer communities.