The Bail Project is ending cash assistance for criminal defendants in Ohio, citing a decline in philanthropic support.
The national organization arrived in Cleveland in 2019 and Cincinnati in 2020, advocating that public safety, not wealth, should determine who stays in jail while awaiting trial. Since then, nearly 3,000 Ohio defendants have received assistance, with 95% of those clients returning for their court dates, the organization told The Marshall Project – Cleveland.
In emails to staff and community partners this month, Bail Project leaders announced that the two Ohio locations, along with branches in Orlando, Florida, and St. Louis County, Missouri, will continue to support existing clients, but stop taking new cases.
“The Bail Project is entering a more focused phase of its work, concentrating our free bail assistance in fewer communities while continuing to advocate for pretrial reform and policy change across the country,” the organization said in a statement to The Marshall Project – Cleveland.
Cash bail assistance will continue in Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Atlanta, Jacksonville, Pensacola, Phoenix and the Flathead Reservation in Montana. Previous locations, including in the city of St. Louis, have closed after local judges curtailed the use of cash bail.
A 2023 Marshall Project – Cleveland analysis found that cash bail disproportionately impacted low-income Black defendants and was losing favor with many Cuyahoga County judges.
This article was first published by The Marshall Project, a nonprofit news organization covering the U.S. criminal justice system. Sign up for their newsletters, and follow them on Instagram, TikTok, Reddit and Facebook.