New York City is doing away with cash bail for defendants of low-level or non-violent crimes, The Associated Press reports ahead of the city's official announcement Wednesday. The $18 million plan will replace bail with supervision options such as text message reminders, required drug or behavioral therapies, and daily check-ins.
Bail has long been criticized for targeting the poor, but it has also played a role in two recent high-profile deaths at the Rikers Island jail complex. Unable to make his $2,500 bail for trespassing, a mentally ill homeless man recently died in his hot cell, and last month Kalief Browder, 22, who was imprisoned for three years as a teenager without trial on Rikers Island, committed suicide. At 16, Browder had been unable to pay his $3,000 bail on charges of stealing a backpack.
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