Five Simple Things: #endmoneybail

Money bail is the practice by which people who are charged with crimes and are presumptively innocent are held in jail (here, that's mostly at Rikers, a notoriously dangerous jail complex named after a man whose claim to fame was that he returned fugitive slaves to their owners), unless they have the financial means to buy their freedom, Money bail means people who can't post bail are more likely than people who, all other facts being the same but who are released pre-trial to be convicted, to be convicted of a higher charge, and to serve a longer sentence. There should not be two justice systems, one for those who can pay and one who can't. Here's what you can do.

1) Donate to a local bail fund (in Brooklyn: Brooklyn Bail Fund) (see also: National Bail Out).

2) Get trained to court watch and hold prosecutors accountable for their bail decisions (in New York: Court Watch NYC).

3) Read this NY Mag article about the rampant sexual abuse perpetrated against women who are in custody at Rikers Island, often by the guards themselves.

4) Tweet #closeRikers to @NYCMayor and join the Close Rikers campaign.

5) Join Color of Change's nationwide campaign to end money bail by organizing locally and pressuring the corporations that profit off of money bail, including signing their petition to the banking industry to divest from the bail bonds industry.