ABOVE PHOTO: Patricia and Dante, share their stories about the cash bail system and how it has impacted their lives as (from right) District Attorney Larry Krasner, Counclmember Helen Gym, Josh Glenn, co-director of the Youth Art and Self Empowerment Project, Nicolas O’Roark, organizer for the Working Families Party and Councilmembers Derek Green and Kendra Brooks look on. (Photo: Denise Clay)
During Martin Luther King Day 2020, Philadelphians worked to help their neighbors through service projects and by advocating against cash bail and pre-trial incarceration.
By Denise Clay
“My name is William Bentley,” the young man dressed in a hooded jacket and a modified tie-dye shirt said as he stood at the front of the sanctuary at Bible Way Baptist Church.
“I’ve been home for a year,” he continued. “I’m a community organizer, a father and a scholar….
…and when I was 17, I was arrested, charged like an adult, and put in adult jail on $520,000 bail.”
Bentley’s was just one of the stories told during The People’s Hearing on Bail and Pretrial Punishment held at the Bible Way Baptist Church in West Philadelphia as part of the observation of Martin Luther King Day.
The hearing, which was sponsored by a coalition of groups devoted to social justice issues including the Philadelphia Bail Fund, the Philadelphia Community Bail Fund, POWER Interfaith and the ACLU of Pennsylvania, gave those who have been directly impacted by the cash bail system the chance to tell their stories directly to a group that included several members of City Council —- Councilpersons Jamie Gauthier, Derek Green, Helen Gym, and Kendra Brooks —- Managing Director Brian Abernathy, State Sen. Vincent Hughes, State Rep. Chris Rabb, Working Families Party organizer Nicolas O’Rourke, District Attorney Larry Krasner and Keir Bradford-Grey, Chief of the Defenders Association.
Moderated by the Rev. Mark Tyler and Miss Dee, a Criminal Justice reform activist, people came to the microphone to share what happened when they were arrested and what impact that had on their lives.
As he continued telling his, Bentley talked about the $52,000 that he needed to get out. Because he didn’t have it, he spent eight months in jail.
“I was only 17,” he said. “I didn’t have 52K on my Visa. I didn’t have a job.”
That’s the story of many of the people who wind up doing time before they even go to court due to the lack of bail money, said Malik Neal of the Philadelphia Bail Fund. While the District Attorney’s office under Krasner has put 26 non-violent offenses on a list of offenses the office won’t request bail for, when you have no resources, even a small bail amount can keep you in jail for months, he said.
“Hundreds of people are still sitting in jail because they can’t afford to pay for their release,” Neal said. “It’s time for the city to earn money bail for everyone.”
As the stories continued to flow in, stories that included a man who lived in a homeless encampment who sat in jail due to police harassment, a woman whose brother and son were in jail for Christmas, and a mother of two who got locked up for defending herself, the City Council persons promised to make the issue of cash bail a priority during Council’s current session.
But because Pennsylvania has a distinction that no state should have when it comes to it’s public defenders, there’s a lack of recourse for indigent defendants, Sen. Hughes said. He’s promised to get to work on that.
“Pennsylvania is the only state that provides no money for it’s public defender’s offices,” he said. “That’s wrong and it impedes justice. That has to change.”
Bentley has been home for a year now and has made the most of his time. By becoming a youth organizer with the Youth Art and Self-Empowerment Project and the #No215JailCoalition, he was able to show everyone that he had value in his community.
”I was able to come home, start working as a youth organizer, and show the court all the value I bring to my community,” Bentley said. “If it weren’t for the Bail Fund stepping in, there’s a good chance I’d be in State Prison right now instead of working to keep other young people out of the system.”
The group is trying to get Pennsylvanians to sign a petition denouncing cash bail. If you’d like to sign the petition, go to tinyurl.com/phlendbail.
ACLU of Pennsylvania, the Philadelphia Bail Fund, the Philadelphia Community Bail Fund, the #No215Jail Coalition, POWER Interfaith, the Youth Art and Self Empowerment Project, the Working Families Party, Live Free, Decarcerate PA, Reclaim and Just Leadership USA are among the myriad of programs that sponsored the People’s Hearing.
While the people’s hearing played to a full house of people who wanted to observe King’s emphasis on service through bringing together citizens with their elected officials, the day began with volunteer service.
More than 150,000 people came together at Girard College and other spaces around the region to participate in the 25th annual Greater Philadelphia Martin Luther King Day of Service.
Created through legislation proposed by Congressman John Lewis and the late Sen. Harris Wofford, both of whom worked with Dr. King, the day of service gives residents a chance to honor the memory of the civil rights leader by helping their community in a way that speaks to them, said Todd Bernstein, president of Global Citizen, and founder and director of the Day of Service.
With a theme of “Voting Rights Then And Now”, the Day of Service shined a spotlight on the 19th Amendment and the voting rights it created for women. It also focused on the 2020 Census by building Census Promise boxes filled with materials needed to participate in the count.
For the ninth year in a row, the Urban Affairs Coalition, Heart Media and Global Citizen held the Jobs and Opportunity Fair as part of the Day of Service. Employers with jobs to fill and more than 500 job seekers got the chance to connect, Bernstein said.
The Cecil B. Moore Freedom Fighters shared their experiences in the Civil Rights movement, which included integrating Girard College and a Civic Engagement Fair was also held as a part of the Day of Service.
The Martin Luther King Day of Service was sponsored by the United Way, Wells Fargo, Comcast, Girard College, Comcast, WURD and Philly Counts among other organizations.
Leave a Comment