Advancing justice with data
Director of Program Innovation and Client Experience, The Bail Project
Innocent until proven guilty is a fundamental principle of our justice system, taught to students in classrooms across the United States. But many realities of our world contradict these shared ideals; cash bail is one of them.
鈥淚f two people are arrested with the same allegation, but one has money and the other one doesn't, then they are going to navigate the justice system completely differently from the moment that bail is established,鈥� Samantha Levinson (HNZ 2017) says.
Those with money will be released, while those without will remain incarcerated, both still innocent under the law. Addressing this deep inequality is the mission of , where Samantha leads data-driven programmatic initiatives to improve services for people in need of cash bail support. Her work includes oversight of programs that help people navigate the court system successfully, and the collection of data that makes the case to overhaul the cash bail system.
Samantha's work reveals that a common sense approach is the key to better outcomes, equality and justice. For example, delivering court notifications and ensuring access to transportation more effectively and humanely help people to return to court than cash bail. The Bail Project鈥檚 data show this clearly, with the organization鈥檚 clients returning to more than 90% of their court dates, without any of their own money on the line.
鈥淓vidence is important to teach us how to replace a system that is based on wealth with one that's based on safety,鈥� she says. 鈥淚'm right at the center of our service delivery work that we provide to clients, and I support our policy and communications efforts that help local, regional and national stakeholders build a better future based on what we're learning in our work today.鈥�
Story by Elizabeth Speed