The Bail Project, a national nonprofit that helps thousands of incarcerated people get out of jail as they await trial, closed its Atlanta branch on Monday due to a new Georgia law that strictly curtails the freedom to post bail for others.
The law, Senate Bill 63, limits people and organizations from posting more than three cash bonds in a year, restricting that ability to dedicated bail companies. It also requires cash bond for an additional 30 crimes, many of which are usually considered misdemeanors, including possession of marijuana, failure to appear in court, and trespassing. The law goes into effect in July.
For four years, The Bail Project’s Atlanta branch provided free bail assistance and pre-trial support to thousands of low-income people, the majority of whom are people of color. Nationwide, The Bail Project says it has paid $81 million to free more than 30,000 people.
“We’re deeply dismayed by Georgia’s lawmakers’ pursuit of this regressive approach to public safety, which flies in the face of evidence showing that cash bail does not enhance safety. Cash bail perpetuates a two-tiered system of justice in Georgia – one for the rich and another for everyone else,” the organization said in a statement.
Senate Bill 63 was signed into law in May by Gov. Brian Kemp, who said in his signing ceremony that the bill “ensure dangerous individuals cannot walk our streets and commit further crimes," the Associated Press reported.
A number of criminal justice organizations have spoken out against the law and the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia has threatened to sue.
Instead of passing Senate Bill 63, The Bail Project said Georgia lawmakers could have chosen to adopt “evidence-based” policies to address court delays and invested in community services to “reduce reliance on pretrial incarceration,” as other states have done. “Instead, they opted for a path that perpetuates more incarceration, racial inequity, trauma, and harm. Shame on them."
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