A proposition that advocates said would have ended the current cash money bail system in California has failed. According to unofficial statewide election results on Nov. 4, Proposition 25, received 55.4 percent NO votes and 44.6 percent YES votes.
Opponents who supported a NO vote on Prop 25 said although it would end cash bail, Prop 25 may have lead to racial profiling by replacing bail with risk assessments that could still imprison people before trial.
Meanwhile, Sam Lewis has gone from being formerly incarcerated to serving as the Executive Director of the Anti-Recidivism Coalition (ARC). His transition to a justice reform advocate with ARC elevated him to a leadership role in the campaign for a YES vote on Proposition 25, which supporters said would have ended the predatory money bail system in California. Prop 25 would have allowed SB 10, which was previously signed into law, to go into effect.
“For African-Americans, we need to understand that historically that cash bail is directly connected to slavery,” said Lewis. “Convict leasing still exists today, chain gangs.”
Advocates for ending money bail want to replace it with a system that would not force people who are accused of misdemeanors to remain in jail just because they can’t afford to pay bail. Supporters say it is also about leveling the playing field so that you don’t have to be wealthy to buy your freedom before trial.
Lewis also explained that Prop 25 would have had a direct impact on someone who juggles living paycheck to paycheck with raising children and maintaining a home. Those accused of crimes won’t have to worry about how they will pay their rent or mortgage while incarcerated for low-level crimes.
“What happens to their children if they are the primary caregiver, what happens to their apartment… what happens to their home, all of those things are lost because they don’t have the money to bail out.”
Lewis said under Prop 25 that person would be released in 12 hours for that misdemeanor, without even seeing a judge and they would be required to come back at a later court date. “They would be able to fight their case from the street and oftentimes when you’re able to fight your case from the streets, you’re able to have a better outcome,” Lewis said.
“People are worried about the unknown,” Lewis added before explaining data will be collected to determine if assessment tools are indeed racially biased. Lewis said the reports would have gone to the state legislature and be made available as public records, giving the community oversight of how judges are making decisions.
Lewis said organizations like ARC would have become watchdogs to make sure Prop 25 was implemented in a fair and equitable manner. California lawmakers would have had the discretion to update SB 10 as the future requires.
