They sit in cells in the United States’ fifth-largest city because they’re broke. Philadelphia’s district attorney, Larry Krasner, has ordered a new policy: Starting immediately, city prosecutors will no longer seek bail for defendants charged with some misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies. The District of Columbia, a pioneer, scrapped cash bail during the 1990s. Defendants awaiting trial can be effectively monitored with conditions such as mandatory drug testing, regular in-person or telephone check-ins, or GPS-equipped ankle bracelets. Elsewhere, sleepwalking judges and prosecutors retain cash bail systems simply because they’ve been around as long as anyone can remember.

Source: Washington Post March 03, 2018 00:33 UTC