Criminal Legal System
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Emergency Action to Bail Out New Orleanians at Risk of COVID-19
The move, in partnership with the Safety and Freedom Fund at Operation Restoration, will release 22 people held in pretrial detention simply because they cannot afford to pay bail.
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Exclusive: COVID Threat Triggers Jail Bailouts
Tags Share As jails prove to be dangerous hot spots for the coronavirus, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights has partnered with community bail funds and local organizers across the country, including Just City in Memphis, Tennessee, to free as many people from pretrial detention while we could still save lives. For Josh Spickler, executive director…
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Our Full Public Comment to the NYC Board of Correction
We urge the abolition of punitive separation and prolonged solitary confinement in New York City.
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RFK Human Rights Supports Creation of the Prosecutorial Misconduct Commission
Tags Share Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights (RFKHR) stands with The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, The New York Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, DKT Liberty Project, The Legal Aid Society, Brooklyn Defender Services, The Bronx Defenders, The Chief Defenders Association of New York, The New York State Defenders Association and Discovery for Justice…
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The Opportunity Cost of Incarceration
Tags Share At the 2019 Compass Investor Conference, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Chief Operating Officer Michael Schreiber moderated a panel on the economic impact and opportunity costs of mass incarceration. Joined by Vera Institute of Justice Vice President Insha Raman, Kadens Family Foundation Chair Pete Kadens, and Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Staff Attorney…
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VICE News: Over 100 People Were Released From Jail in Mass Bail Out Effort
Tags Share In New York City, there are hundreds of women and juveniles in jail who haven’t been convicted of a crime. Most of them are imprisoned at Rikers Island and are only there because they can’t afford their bail. In an effort to directly address the injustices of cash bail, RFK Human Rights set…
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105 New York City People Freed From Jail in Bail Reform Experiment
Tags Share In October 2018, hundreds of volunteers for Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights posted $1.2 million in bail to free 105 people from Rikers Island and other New York City jails. The effort was the largest mass bailout to date and served as part of a national campaign to demonstrate how cash bail not…
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Pedro Hernandez Speaks Out Against Bail System
Tags Share At 16, Pedro Hernandez was wrongfully accused of a crime but instead of going home to await his court date and prepare his case, he ended up behind bars in New York’s notorious Rikers Island jail. The judge had set his bail to $250,000, more than he would ever be able to afford,…
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Bail Reform, Which Could Save Millions of Unconvicted People from Jail, Explained
Tags Share As Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights prepares to lead the largest mass bailout in history aimed at freeing more than 100 women and teenagers from New York’s notorious Rikers Island jails, Vox took a moment to explain the history of cash bail in our country and how it works. As the reporter notes,…
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The Appeal: Common Bails Out a Stranger
Rapper and activist Common joined RFK Human Rights’ Mass Bail Out campaign, an effort to show New York City does not need Rikers and does not need cash bail.
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RFK Human Rights Announces Mass Bail Out Action of Hundreds of Incarcerated Women and Youth
The action has attracted over 200 volunteers to free women and young people in New York City who are jailed because they cannot afford to post bail.
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In Opposition to “California Money Bail Reform Act”
Tags Share As Attorney General in 1964, Robert F. Kennedy pressed Congress to pass bail reform at the federal level, stating: “Every year in this country, thousands of persons are kept in jail for weeks and even months following arrest. They are not yet proven guilty. They may be no more likely to flee than…
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