Background
In 2015 John Oliver highlighted how bail is increasingly being used as a way to lock up the poor whether or not they are actually guilty. Data suggests that if individuals don’t make bail, they are more likely to end up with a plea deal rather than going to court. This means, that they have an overall greater chance of going to prison and receiving a longer sentence.
During Governor Cuomo’s 2018 State of the State address on January 3, he introduced a proposal to “restore fairness in New York State’s Criminal Justice System.” One central piece of this proposal is to “eliminate monetary bail for people facing misdemeanor and non-violent felony charges.” This would help decrease the number of individuals held in jail in New York City, where nearly 50% of cases resulting in jail time were for misdemeanors or lesser charges (source).
An article from the Pew Charitable Trust states:
Six in 10 adults in U.S. jails have not been convicted of a crime. They are locked up awaiting trial, mostly because they’re too poor to post bail. They are legally presumed innocent, but many spend months and even years awaiting trial. Often, they feel pressure to take a plea deal rather than spend more time in jail.
This system of mass incarceration is not just intensifying inequities within our society, but it also has a detrimental impact on our population’s health.
• In 2014, 1,053 (unconvicted) individuals died in local jails and between 2000 and 2014, 14,786 deaths were reported by jail authorities. 31% of these deaths were suicides (source).
• 14.5% of men and 31% of women in jails suffer from a serious mental illness, including bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and major depression. These rates are four to six times higher than in the general population (source).
• According to the latest available data, 83 percent of jail inmates with mental illness did not receive mental health care after admission (source).
• There is a greater prevalence of contagious diseases in jail, putting incarcerated individuals and their families at risk of infection (source).
• Fiscal health of families of those incarcerated is placed in jeopardy (source).
Fortunately, in recent years, states have started to fight for bail reform, with several states taking major strides to cut down on cash bail. Some examples include:
• In New Jersey, the court is instructed to require cash bail only when no other release conditions could ensure public safety or that defendants would return to court (source).
• Maryland implemented a rule requiring judges to call for the “least onerous” conditions when setting bail for those individuals that are not considered a flight risk and consider whether a defendant can afford to make bail before making a requirement for release (source).
• The New Mexico State Legislature passed an amendment that prohibits the detention of defendants who aren’t deemed dangerous or a flight risk “solely because of financial inability” to pay bail (source).
• In Alaska, a reform law went into effect on January 1, 2018 and makes it so that secured bail bonds can only be set for those charged with violent offenses and with high risk assessment scores. In addition, the law requires courts to release those charged with nonviolent misdemeanors and class C felonies with low scores (source).
There are many groups invested in this issue, some in favor of cash bail and some deeply opposed. Some of the interested parties, include:
• Bail Bondsmen
• NYC Department of Corrections
• Prosecutors
• Politicians (NYC and New York State)
• Family and friends of those incarcerated
You have been hired by the Center for Court Innovation to develop a multi-level campaign to convince the New York State legislature to vote for Governor Cuomo’s proposal to eliminate cash bail.
The goal of the campaign is to garner public support and increase pressure on the members of the New York State legislature to vote for eliminating cash bail, resulting in a significant decrease in the prison population.
In no more than 10 numbered pages, excluding references, using 1.5-spacing, 1 inch margins all around, and Garamond 12 font please address the following:
Briefly (1 to no more than 2 pages) describe the health problems (Mental health, suicide, heart disease, infections, etc.) and how the recommended action on the policy level can help reduce NYC’s incarceration rate, creating a more equitable society. Include adequate background for someone who is not familiar with the problems associated with mass incarceration and cash bail.
Design a multi-level campaign (targeting at least two levels of the social ecological model) that utilizes particular theories and operationalizes relevant theoretical constructs/concepts, focusing primarily on the theories covered after the midterm. The goal of the intervention is to design a campaign that will put pressure on state legislatures to move forward with incarceration reform and ending cash bail. In your discussion, please state the expected impact of operationalizing these constructs on your intended goal.
Strive for breadth and depth in your use of theory. But, if you have to choose between the two, focus on depth. You are not required to use all of the theories we’ve studied. It is acceptable to use a number of major theories from the second half of the semester, and add constructs from other theories, should you choose. You may also include theories from before the midterm, but the main goal is to apply higher-level theories. Don’t be afraid to be creative.
Sample Solution
