The system of cash bail, where a certain amount of money is required of the defendant as assurance that they will show up in crime, makes logical sense at first glance. However, when seeing the system in action, it is clear that this system works for the high-income and against the low-income.

The fact is, not paying bail means that an accused person must remain jailed. Those with enough money do not have to face this difficulty, as they are in the position to afford cash bail and be released while awaiting trial.

Across the US, hundreds of thousands are unable to afford their bail and are incarcerated because of this.
 
The issue does not stop here, as cash bail not only exemplifies economic inequality, but also perpetuates it.

Holding low-income defendants when they cannot afford bail pushes them deeper into inequality, as being in jail stops them from working, paying their bills, taking care of their families, and ultimately disrupts their lives.

In doing so, this system revokes their livelihood and not only consists of the fact that the cash bail is unaffordable but that the consequences it inflicts make people even more economically disadvantaged.

The system is corrupted on an even deeper level, as it also disproportionately effects people of color, who are often given higher cash bail amounts.

The criminal justice system itself is largely geared against communities of color, and systems like this which are deeply flawed on a systemic level only exacerbate such issues and inequalities.
 
Pretrial assessment risks have been found to be a helpful alternative, providing a way to determine the likelihood of the defendant not showing up to court without harming their economic status. While this method is not completely flawless, due to the possibility for the risk assessment itself to have errors, it is a viable alternative to a corrupted system.

This system is one of the central parts of the much larger picture and is a seemingly normal and overlooked detail when it comes to criminal trials. Yet, it continues to impose difficulties and economic strains on so many while pushing low-income individuals further into a state of unfairness.