Local officials trying to bring down the population of the long-overcrowded Cuyahoga County Jail have had help in the last few months from the Bail Project, a nonprofit that posts bonds for defendants who can鈥檛 afford them.
The project, which relies on donations and operates in more than a dozen court systems across the country, set up a two-person shop in Cleveland in July 2019. Since then, the project has paid the bail of 175 defendants, according to the group鈥檚 national spokesman.
Cash bail is meant to ensure that criminal defendants show back up for their court dates. Advocates of bail reform say the system keeps poor defendants in jail before their trials, while the wealthier go free.
A stay behind bars before trial鈥攚hen a defendant is still legally innocent鈥攃an turn a person鈥檚 life upside down, the project鈥檚 Kareem Henton said.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e talking about folks that have lost, or have the potential of losing their homes, their apartments, things of that nature, losing their jobs, their children鈥攑erhaps custody of their children,鈥� Henton said.
Henton and Anthony Body, two local 鈥渂ail disruptors鈥� from the Bail Project, work out of a small office in the Terminal Tower in Downtown Cleveland.
The project can cover up to a $5,000 surety bond, which requires all the money up front. They鈥檒l also pay up to a $10,000 10-percent bond, which only requires $1,000 down. On average, the project pays $869 per case, according to Henton and Body.
When the cases are over, the project gets the money back to use again for a new defendant. Overall, the Bail Project in Cleveland has been on the hook for $1 million in bonds, Henton said.
The project doesn鈥檛 just bail people out of jail. Henton said he tries to sign defendants up for other services they might need.
鈥淎 person has a brush with the criminal justice system,鈥� he said. 鈥淲ell, it might have something to do with the fact that they鈥檙e homeless. Well, if we help them with their homelessness, then they鈥檙e perhaps not going to wind up back in here.鈥�
The project largely bails out defendants charged with felonies in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court. The public defender鈥檚 office often tips Henton and Body off when people who need assistance.
Body said he and Henton have even received calls from inside the jail.
鈥淭hey get to having conversations within the jail,鈥� Body said. 鈥淲e鈥檒l receive collect calls, prepaid calls, with folks saying my name鈥檚 such-and-such, my bond is only $5,000, can you come interview me?鈥�
Advocates of bail reform protest Cuyahoga County Jail conditions in January 2019. [Nick Castele / ideastream]
If Henton and Body had their way, the Bail Project probably wouldn鈥檛 exist at all. Both want local governments to end the cash bail system.
say more consideration should be given to victims and the possibility that a defendant could commit a crime while out on bail.
But the court has already weighed a person鈥檚 risk to the community in setting a bond amount in the first place, Body said.
Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O鈥橫alley said he sees the project鈥檚 work as a positive. If a defendant did threated victims or witnesses, he said, his office would voice concerns to the court.
鈥淏ut those cases are few and far between,鈥� O鈥橫alley said, 鈥渁nd generally I think what we see is, more often than not, that people can鈥檛 post bond, and as a result of not being able to post bond, we have additional people sitting in the county jail.鈥�
Defendants have come back to the Justice Center for their court dates 95 percent of the time, according to the Bail Project鈥檚 spokesman. If the project faced any skepticism when it started, that record has won it respect, according to Cuyahoga County Public Defender Mark Stanton.
鈥淭he individuals who are receiving the bonds because of the Bail Project鈥檚 interaction are appearing,鈥� Stanton said. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e not committing crimes, and they鈥檙e appearing at a very high rate.鈥�
While the Bail Project has tried to help more defendants get out of jail, court leaders are also taking steps to put fewer people behind bars while awaiting trial in the first place.
Cleveland Municipal Court has a new pretrial services program that allows more defendants to await trial outside of jail on court supervision. Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court has also encouraged more no-cash personal bonds.
Stanton remains skeptical this change of attitude is permanent. Inmate deaths are what injected urgency into bail reform talks here, he said.
鈥淲e have had nine dead bodies in Cuyahoga County Jail in the last year and a half,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd that, more than any other reason, drove this alleged reversal of a bond policy. But there鈥檚 still far too many people that have cash bonds attached to their cases.鈥�
An earlier version of this story said that the Bail Project set up in Cleveland in July 2018. The correct date is July 2019.
