State Public Defender Kelli Thompson, a member of the Legislative Study Committee on Bail and Conditions of Pretrial Release, told the group at its December, 2018 meeting that “We have people every single day that are being put in custody on high cash bail based on poverty alone.”
Thompson is shown at the committee’s Oct. 16, 2018, meeting. (WCIJ photo by Emily Hamer)
Several organizations are trying to deal with this situation by providing bail funds for people charged with nonviolent and low-level crimes. Learn more about these efforts by clicking on the headline.