New York City is reportedly ending bail for low-level crimes

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.

About 45,500 defendants are held on bail each year in New York City. In pilot programs in other cities, about 87 percent of those on supervised release returned to court, the AP reports.

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