Punishing Poverty
Subtitle
How Bail and Pretrial Detention Fuel Inequalities in the Criminal Justice System
From a description on the University of California Press website:
"Most people in jail have not been convicted of a crime. Instead, they have been accused of a crime and cannot afford to post the bail amount to guarantee their freedom until trial. 'Punishing Poverty' examines how the current system of pretrial release detains hundreds of thousands of defendants awaiting trial. Tracing the historical antecedents of the U.S. bail system, with particular attention to the failures of bail reform efforts in the mid- to late 20th century, the authors describe the painful social and economic impact of contemporary bail decisions. The first book-length treatment to analyze how bail reproduces racial and economic inequality throughout the criminal justice system, 'Punishing Poverty' explores reform efforts, as jurisdictions begin to move away from money bail systems, and the attempts of the bail bond industry to push back against such reforms."
Bio
Henry F. Fradella is professor of criminology and criminal justice and affiliate professor of law at Arizona State University. Christine S. Scott-Hayward is associate professor of law, criminology and criminal justice at California State University, Long Beach.