"Bail reform is needed to bring us a step closer to Ohio being a place of liberty and justice for all, not just the wealthy. We need to do what’s right and focus on facts, not fearmongering."
AUGUST 3, 2022
by August Higgins
Summer is in full swing. Are you worried about sharks as you order your ice cream cone? Shark attacks increase alongside ice cream sales, but one does not cause the other. The real variable is summertime weather, which drives us to beaches and ice cream stands.
Recognition that this is correlation — not causation — is likely why lifeguards aren’t smacking sweet treats out of beachgoers’ hands.
What does this have to do with our criminal legal system?
Some stakeholders reliant on the status quo are using correlation arguments to stand in the way of bail reform. Often, when true reform is on the table, naysayers suggest a problem is a direct result of reform even with no evidence of causation and when other variables are likely responsible.
Another common tactic is to claim “the sky will fall” and point to a single incident as proof of a widespread problem. This is precisely what is happening with bail reform and crime in our communities. Like ice cream sales and shark attacks, it is easy to be misled and scared, but we cannot succumb to manufactured fear standing in the way of pretrial fairness.
The Ohio General Assembly introduced bail reform legislation in May 2021, and later added public safety-minded amendments.
Cash bail creates a two-tiered system of justice in which wealthy individuals (regardless of threat to public safety) go home while people without money languish in jail (even if they pose no threat).
HB 315 goes a long way to ending this wealth-based detention.
Not only will it ensure initial release decisions hinge on whether someone poses a threat instead of the depth of their pockets, it also maintains judicial discretion by providing judges and prosecutors opportunities to step in.
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