By Ashley Johnson/ Broadcast version by Mary Schuermann Kuhlman
Reporting for the Kent State-Ohio News Connection Collaboration

The sudden killing of George Floyd on May 25 led scores of protesters to take their fight for racial justice to the streets. Thousands of protesters have been arrested in America since the protests began, drawing attention to a system that many believe discriminates against people -- often people of color -- who don't have money for bail. As a result, advocates for change are donating to bail funds in many states, including Ohio.

"The protests blew us up literally over a weekend," said Stacey Little, co-creator of the Columbus Freedom Fund, which has seen an increase in donations since the protests.

The CFF is one of more than 60 community bail and bond funds of The National Bail Fund Network, one of the organizations trying to end mass incarceration as part of the nonprofit organization Community Justice Exchange. The network was established four years ago by a group of organizers who wanted to end pre-trial detention and mass incarceration by using bail funds as an organizing tool.

"We provide technical assistance, we do a lot of coordinated strategy work," said Pilar Weiss, NBFN director. "We do some fundraising together. It's across the spectrum there."

Within five days of Floyd's death, the Minnesota Freedom Fund raised more than $20 million in donations, more than the organization expected. The influx of donations caused the fund to temporarily stop taking contributions and redirect them to Floyd's family and other local organizations.

Kent State political science major Bryce Schlenker has donated to multiple bail funds, including the MFF, Columbus Freedom Fund and Breonna Taylor's GoFundMe. He said his donations have been partly personal and partly because of the discrimination of marginalized communities by police in some states.

According to a 2019 Prison Policy Initiative report, nonwhite defendants are at least 10% to 25% more likely than white defendants to be detained pretrial or to have to pay money bail and are less likely to be able to afford it.

"There's a large Somali population that have immigrated to Minneapolis in that area," Schlenker said, "and the rates of police violence towards those POC are just really insane."

The number of donations to bail funds have increased more than ever with the help of celebrities such as Lizzo and Natalie Portman, urging people to sign petitions and donate on social media.

Little said she is glad the Columbus Freedom Fund has received an increase of donations, but she believes some judges will purposely set bail amounts to that amount to deplete bail funds.

"We are really careful about what we say, simply because we don't want the wrong ears to get on that and say, 'OK, well, they have this amount of money, so we're gonna set this person's bail at $100,000,'" Little said. "It will deplete our bail fund much quicker than, say
, if there's $5,000 bails or $2,000 bails or anything like that, so we just try to keep it real discreet."

Despite this hurdle, Little said, the CFF does plan to announce the total amount of money raised at the end of the year.

Another obstacle to ending mass incarceration is a lack of cooperation among some police officers. On June 2, Cleveland Bail Project bail disrupter Anthony Body was arrested on curfew violation charges while trying to post bail for protesters at the Justice Center. He said he repeatedly tried to explain why he was there but they refused to listen and acknowledge his county-issued badge.

The first-degree misdemeanor charge was dismissed July 1, but Body said he still worries about how others who don't have connections such as his are being treated in the justice system.

"While going through the docket and hearing some of the video hearings, there was quite a few homeless folks on that docket," Body said. "You're basically punishing people for being homeless. You're putting people in a system that's failed them and now putting them in a system again for even more failure."

During Body's 25-hour stint in jail, he noticed proper precautions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 were not being taken. He said the conditions were filthy and no one was able to social distance inside the cells.

The National Bail Fund Network is aware of the unsafe environment in jail cells and is using donations to help free people during COVID-19.

"We've seen a profound impact in terms of jail cells," Weiss said. "Jails, prisons and detention centers are the site of the highest infections across the country. They're incredibly dangerous anyway, but there's not adequate safety precautions or health-care ways to protect people."

With COVID-19 and global Black Lives Matter protests happening simultaneously, Weiss said a lot of work remains to be done.

"In every single community, there's organizations locally that are demanding that governors and mayors and county commissions, city councils and sheriffs release people," Weiss said. "They have the power to let people out pre-trial, they have the power to sign off on clemency and pardon. They have the power to decline to prosecute and let people be free, while they attend to their court procedures. So, people should be making those demands of their elected officials."

Advocates for change are heartened by the Ohio Supreme Court's refined proposal to Criminal Rule 46, which took effect July 1. The law previously allowed those who could afford their financial conditions of release to go home, often forcing people of color to stay in jail because they did not have money for bail. The amendment now mandates a lower amount of monetary bail to secure the defendant's appearance, among other improvements.

Little said she respects the tireless work and effort it took the American Civil Liberties Union to promote this amendment change, but added that it is only a good start to the CFF's end goal.

"We need to be at a point where we're talking about abolishing the bail system," Little said. "Not making recommendations, like, not making suggestions. We're at the point where these systems need to be torn down completely."

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This collaboration is produced in association with Media in the Public Interest and funded in part by the George Gund Foundation.


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Mississippi prisons often lack resources to treat people who are incarcerated with substance-use disorders adequately but a nonprofit organization is offering alternative programs focused on treatment instead of incarceration.

The Magnolia State has one of the highest incarceration rates in the nation, with more than 1,000 people per 100,000 residents behind bars.

Christina Dent, founder and president of End It For Good, said they invite people to support approaches to drugs prioritizing life, preserving families and promoting public safety.

"We do education out in the community - with citizens, with advocates, with policymakers - to help them understand why a punitive criminal justice approach to drugs and addiction has not produced good results and why a health-centered approach would produce much better results," Dent explained.

It is estimated more than 578,000 people in state and federal prisons in 2022 had a substance-use disorder in the year prior to their admission, according to the Prison Policy Initiative.

Dent emphasized they recommend lawmakers look at other alternatives to stop reactionary approaches resulting in Mississippians paying harsher penalties for crimes such as drug possession.

"Shift away from increasing penalties," Dent urged. "Another thing that we could do would be to reduce penalties or recategorize penalties for something like drug possession. We would love to see a shift from treating drug possession as potentially a felony to drug possession being a misdemeanor. "

Dent noted such an alternative approach would allow individuals impacted to more easily regain employment, support their families and reintegrate into society. She added felony convictions create lifelong barriers to employment and self-sufficiency.


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April is Second Chance Month and many Nebraskans are celebrating passage of a bipartisan voting rights restoration bill and its focus on second chances.

Legislative Bill 20 restores voting rights to those convicted of a felony upon completion of their sentence, eliminating the two-year waiting period.

Jason Witmer, policy fellow at the ACLU of Nebraska, said the change will promote success for formerly incarcerated Nebraskans. He pointed out it also will increase the likelihood of the state meeting the objectives Gov. Jim Pillen and the Department of Corrections have committed to.

Nebraska became the fourth state to join "Reentry 2030," a national initiative of the Council of State Governments focused on strengthening programs and removing obstacles for those reentering society after incarceration.

"The more somebody can have their rights in place for them, the more invested they are in the society," Witmer contended. "The more invested you are in your community and your society, the more likely you are to succeed. And the right to vote is fundamentally part of reintegrating into society. It's your civil voice."

Reentry 2030 aims to have all 50 states commit to improving outcomes for formerly incarcerated people. Nebraska's goals include increasing GED completion and college coursework by those in Nebraska prisons, and reducing recidivism 50% by 2030.

Pillen allowed the measure to become law but stated it contains "potential constitutional issues" which could lead to a legal challenge.

Nebraska's recidivism rate for those who left prison between 2019 and 2022 was nearly 30%.

Witmer noted it is at least partly attributable to the challenges people face upon leaving incarceration.

"You did the time, and then you come out and find out, 'Oh, I can't vote. Oh, housing is almost impossible to get. Oh, I can't work here,'" Witmer outlined. "Suddenly you don't feel like you're a part of any of this."

Across the country, 37 other states restore voting rights to those charged with a felony either immediately after incarceration or after completing parole or probation. Two states and the District of Columbia allow people to vote while incarcerated.

A new website aims to help Kentuckians just out of prison re-enter their communities and find job training, employment and recovery services.

April is Second Chance Month - and according to the Prison Policy Initiative, about 60% of formerly incarcerated individuals are jobless.

Gov. Andy Beshear said the website - secondchance.ky.gov - is meant to cut bureaucracy around job searching, and tie resources together in one spot to make it easier for people to get back on their feet.

"We are not our worst day," said Beshear. "When we look at how many people have a criminal record in Kentucky, this is the right thing to do. But it's also necessary from a workforce standpoint."

In 2021, lawmakers passed legislation that tasked the Kentucky Department of Corrections with issuing certificates of employability to people who successfully complete programs while incarcerated.

It also helps increase access to state-issued IDs for those leaving prison.

The website includes information on resume help, job searches and local reentry services.

Beshear said eventually, the site will contain a comprehensive list of employers - such as Kentucky State Parks, which is a participant in second chance employment.

"If they need to find resources on how to get that next level of education or workforce training," said Beshear, "and then ultimately be able to see a list of employers that are willing to look at them for second chance employment."

Businesses in the Commonwealth can also find information about programs that can aid in hiring and retaining more second-chance employees - including the Fair Chance Academy, Kentucky Transformational Employment program, Prison-to-Work Pipeline, and Jobs on Day One programs.