NASHVILLE – Tennessee lawmakers are eyeing modest tweaks to the state’s privatized bail bond system, where lawsuits and data show poorer people charged even with nonviolent crimes often can’t afford to get out of jail before their cases are heard – despite a justice system that allows for pre-trial release of detainees presumed innocent after being assessed for risk.
Problems in current practices in jurisdictions across the state, especially in rural areas, assumed center stage last week during two days of hearings before the General Assembly’s special Joint Committee to Study Bail Reform.
Those testifying included criminal justice reform advocates, judges, prosecutors and sheriffs, representatives of the bail bond industry, a victims’ rights advocate and others.
Criminal justice reform advocates pointed to Tennessee’s rising jail population after an initial decrease due to COVID-19. Change is needed, they said, especially in the realm of setting “cash bail” for defendants charged with nonviolent crimes before they are tried.
Figures compiled by the Vera Institute for Justice show 25 Tennessee counties had zero cases where defendants were released on their own recognizance in 2019. Among those listed was Bradley County in Southeast Tennessee.