Let’s back up a step. In common law, bail is the set of conditions imposed on someone in exchange for their not being held in custody until trial. In the US, that primarily includes being required to post a bond or some other surety, but it can also include conditions such as not approaching trial witnesses, not leaving town, etc.
And it’s entirely reasonable that, if you’re posting a surety, it has to be something of your that’s at risk. Otherwise, you’ve got no skin in the game, which defeats the purpose of the surety, which is to ensure you don’t skip down before the trial.
Based on that, bail’s a good thing in general. The thing that’s fucked up in the US is the over-reliance on posting a bond and the excessive size of bonds that are required, and that’s what disproportionately hurts poorer people.
Let’s back up a step. In common law, bail is the set of conditions imposed on someone in exchange for their not being held in custody until trial. In the US, that primarily includes being required to post a bond or some other surety, but it can also include conditions such as not approaching trial witnesses, not leaving town, etc.
And it’s entirely reasonable that, if you’re posting a surety, it has to be something of your that’s at risk. Otherwise, you’ve got no skin in the game, which defeats the purpose of the surety, which is to ensure you don’t skip down before the trial.
Based on that, bail’s a good thing in general. The thing that’s fucked up in the US is the over-reliance on posting a bond and the excessive size of bonds that are required, and that’s what disproportionately hurts poorer people.