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Speaker 1

00:00

-♪ ♪ -♪ -$5,000.

Speaker 2

00:04

Bail. We're so used to it, it has become a fixture of American life.

Speaker 3

00:09

Down here at the shore, 1 minute, you got 3 girls

Speaker 4

00:11

in a jacuzzi. Next minute, somebody's in jail, and you have to bail them out.

Speaker 3

00:15

That's what happens down at the shore.

Speaker 1

00:16

-♪ ♪ -♪ ♪

Speaker 2

00:18

The other thing that happens down at the shore, chlamydia, just a medically astounding rate of chlamydia. At its heart, America's bail system sounds pretty simple. If you're charged with a crime, the court might ask for an amount of money as bond, and then return it to you once you show up for trial.

Speaker 2

00:34

And if you have that money, it's no big deal. But if you don't, you can be in big trouble. Just look at 1 example, a man called Miguel. He was arrested for driving with a suspended license.

Speaker 2

00:45

The court set bail at $1,000, and he had a choice. Pay it, or await a trial in Rikers Island. And I'll let Miguel and his wife take the story from there.

Speaker 5

00:55

I wouldn't wish Rikers on my worst enemy, because it's rough.

Speaker 6

00:59

It was hard because I had to borrow, I had to try to borrow money from this person, and this person, and this person to try to get him out. He told the judge, I can't afford a thousand dollar bail. So, he really didn't have a choice but to plead guilty.

Speaker 2

01:14

Now, whether he was guilty or not, the fact is a non-violent offender spent time in Rikers because he didn't have a thousand dollars. And this is a systemic problem. Increasingly, bail has become a way to lock up the poor regardless of guilt, because Miguel was a family man who posed no danger to society whatsoever, and he was stuck in Rikers.

Speaker 2

01:33

Whereas, millionaire Robert Durst, who'd been accused of murder in Texas, had a completely different experience of the bail system.

Speaker 7

01:41

I had been told by the detective that, you've been charged with murder, Bail has been set at $250,000.

Speaker 8

01:50

But was your intention when you put

Speaker 9

01:51

up the $250,000 to run away?

Speaker 7

01:54

Oh, goodbye $250,000. Goodbye jail. I'm out.

Speaker 2

02:00

I'm out? That, of course, is an excerpt from Robert Durst's children's books, Good-Bye Jail.

Speaker 1

02:07

-♪

Speaker 2

02:08

Good-Bye money, good-bye bail, I killed them all, but good-bye jail. Of course, of course.

Speaker 1

02:15

-♪

Speaker 2

02:17

The problem is, the frequency and cost of bail have risen dramatically, and it is disproportionately hurting the poor. In fact, in 2013, an analysis of New Jersey's jail population found that nearly 40 percent were being held solely because they couldn't meet the terms of their bail, which is crazy. Jail is supposed to be for dangerous criminals.

Speaker 2

02:37

If 40 percent of a group don't meet the basic criteria to be there, that should change your perception of what that group is. If 40 percent of the Girl Scouts were grown men, you'd feel weird about buying cookies from them. So... So what happens if you can't make bail?

Speaker 2

02:54

Well, much like a game of fuck, marry, kill with Crosby, Stills and Nash, there are a few terrible scenarios. Option 1, you sit in jail. And again, if you're poor, as this defense attorney explains, that has immediate consequences.

Speaker 10

03:12

Our clients work at jobs where if you're absent, You're fired. Our clients live in shelters or in transitional housing, places where, if you're not there for the night, your place is gone. So there are a lot of different ways in which incarceration, even for a short period of time, can really destroy someone's life.

Speaker 2

03:28

Exactly. Jail can do for your actual life what being in a marching band can do for your social life. Even if you're just in for a little while, it can destroy you. Destroy you.

Speaker 2

03:40

But... That means it's no wonder that many defendants who can't afford bail favor option number 2, simply pleading guilty even if you're not, as a former public defender explains.

Speaker 11

03:53

You sit in jail because you can't afford to pay your way to freedom, and you're often confronted with a deal that goes like this. Plead guilty, get out, maintain your innocence and go to trial, stay in.

Speaker 2

04:05

And poor people are regularly choosing to admit guilt just to get out of there, which isn't good. The only time that's appropriate is in a Catholic confessional. What do you mean, is there anything else?

Speaker 2

04:16

I don't know, I masturbated into a kiwi fruit. Is that what you want to hear? Just let me leave, I have stuff to do.

Speaker 1

04:23

-...

Speaker 2

04:24

And the problem is, if you do plead guilty to a crime you didn't commit, that has its own downsides. Because unfortunately, on a job application, next to the question, have you ever been convicted of a crime, check yes or no, most don't then leave 4 pages of blank space to explain the social and economic inequalities inherent in the legal system. And that brings us to your final option, commercial bail bondsmen.

Speaker 2

04:48

You know, the people who make amazing ads like these.

Speaker 12

04:52

Rumpy's Bail Bonds has busted out all over Middle Tennessee.

Speaker 1

04:56

♪

Speaker 13

04:56

I ain't going out like that ♪ On

Speaker 14

04:58

my call for bail bonds ♪ Because they got my back

Speaker 1

05:00

♪

Speaker 15

05:00

they got me out in no time. Now my back on track. Jesus Christ, bell bongs.

Speaker 16

05:05

The God released you on a plan by calling me. I'm Bishop Brian Jesus Christ, bell bongs. 410-292-3029.

Speaker 16

05:14

Get locked up in a frame.

Speaker 1

05:15

Bell out.

Speaker 16

05:16

Bell out.

Speaker 15

05:17

Bell out.

Speaker 16

05:17

Bell out.

Speaker 15

05:18

Bell out.

Speaker 16

05:18

Bell out. Jesus Christ, bell bongs.

Speaker 2

05:22

Yes. Jesus Christ,

Speaker 1

05:25

bell bongs. Amazing. In a phrase...

Speaker 1

05:25

Bailout! Bailout! Bailout! Bailout!

Speaker 1

05:25

Jesus Christ bailed on us. Yes. Jesus Christ bailed on us.

Speaker 2

05:26

Amazing. It's... Well, I will say, it is a little weird given that Jesus, pretty memorably, I think, was not bailed out. I mean, he did eventually escape custody, but it was a real workaround of the system.

Speaker 2

05:40

Now, here is how that system works, though. Bail bondsmen promise the court to pay your bail if you fail to show up for a trial. In exchange, you pay them 10 to 15 percent of the bail amount, which they then keep, regardless of how your trial goes. So, if your bail is $5,000 and you're found innocent, then you've basically just paid a $750 fee to a bondsman for doing absolutely nothing wrong.

Speaker 2

06:03

And paying $750 for absolutely nothing should be reserved for 1 thing and 1 thing only, six-month gym memberships. That's it. You're not gonna use it, Gerald. You're gonna use the treadmill twice and that's it.

Speaker 2

06:17

This is learning to speak Korean all over again, Gerald.

Speaker 1

06:21

-♪ ♪ -♪

Speaker 2

06:22

And if you don't show up for your trial, bail bondsmen routinely hire bounty hunters to track you down, and they have a frightening amount of power.

Speaker 17

06:31

In all but 4 states, the companies are legally allowed to take almost any measure necessary to capture a client, including crossing state lines and breaking into homes. It's a dangerous business for everyone involved, with few rules and little oversight.

Speaker 2

06:47

Well, they're not kidding. In 18 states, anyone can become a bounty hunter, regardless of education, training, or prior criminal history. Becoming a bounty hunter is basically a lot like becoming a social media expert.

Speaker 2

07:00

All it takes is wanting it bad enough and not caring about whether strangers hate you or not. But then, the news that any idiot can be a bounty hunter shouldn't really be that surprising to you if you've ever turned on A&E and stumbled across this.

Speaker 18

07:15

I am a lawman on a mission from God. When I say, freeze! They know what I'm saying.

Speaker 6

07:21

How's it going, man?

Speaker 1

07:22

Hey, you... Don't you... Get down!

Speaker 15

07:25

Get down! Get down on the

Speaker 18

07:28

first floor! The only way

Speaker 1

07:30

this guy

Speaker 18

07:30

will get away from us is if he kills himself right now and jumps into a pool of sharks.

Speaker 2

07:36

Okay. Okay. I hate to be a stickler over chronology, Dog, but how do you kill yourself and then jump into a pool of sharks? That's the kind of attention to detail, dog, that makes me worry about you operating as an unregulated vigilante.

Speaker 2

07:52

Now, that show was so popular, it inspired pretty much every other bail business to pitch themselves as a reality show. Just click around online and you will find sizzle reels for a veritable smorgasbord of similar shows.

Speaker 1

08:04

♪

Speaker 15

08:05

Walking and talking You're acting like a criminal ♪ ♪ Running through the woods Like an over-legged animal

Speaker 1

08:09

♪

Speaker 15

08:10

Bob Marley is. Now, you're on, Bob. We

Speaker 1

08:12

are on.

Speaker 19

08:13

Dear idiot, we're coming to get you.

Speaker 15

08:15

Fanny Houghton is the natural high. You gotta think like him, be like them, and react quicker than them. Put your hands up.

Speaker 15

08:23

You want tough. You want action. Meet Big Benning. They call him Teddy Bear.

Speaker 15

08:30

Denise... The Huntress.

Speaker 2

08:34

It doesn't stop there. There's also Richard, the screwdriver. Richard L., the other Richard.

Speaker 2

08:41

Alison, the Greco-Roman wrestler. Caroline, the 1 who took up archery after watching The Hunger Games. And don't forget Jennifer, the arthritic alpaca in a bowler hat. Actually, you know what?

Speaker 2

08:53

I now regret making fun of that. Now that I'm seeing the cast, I get the appeal. I want to see those characters grow.

Speaker 1

08:58

-♪ ♪ -♪

Speaker 2

09:00

Clearly, these shows are in a competitive marketplace, and the problem is when people try to stick out, ideas like this happen.

Speaker 20

09:09

So what do we do differently? We don't just bounty hunt, we bounty race. Each week...

Speaker 20

09:16

2 new teams of bounty hunters... Go head to head. Welcome to the most dangerous competition on television, Bail Chasers.

Speaker 2

09:27

Okay, first of all, first of all, The most dangerous competition on television is the bachelorette. Those women have loved and they've lost. Love is a reward, but it's also a risk, goddammit.

Speaker 2

09:38

It's a risk! She's putting herself on the line! She's there for the right reasons! She sees her husband in that room!

Speaker 2

09:46

-...and second, it says something about how comfortable we all are with how our bail system works, that a TV show where people with guns hunt humans for sport seems legitimate because we just think, well, they're just doing their actual job. And when you give bounty hunters this kind of power, bad things happen.

Speaker 12

10:06

Veteran Gene Travis says he was sitting with his wife on his Bethpage front porch, next thing he knows, his barn is being searched, and Travis has a stun gun pointed at his back. The intruders, Mark Brumman and his wife, Angela. Bounty hunters who police say had the wrong home.

Speaker 12

10:21

Clay was shot by 1 of the bondsmen. He was then transported to Irmak where he died.

Speaker 21

10:26

Was a bounty hunter justified in tasing a Midwest City homeowner last Saturday? Was another justified in shooting his dog? Police say the videotape they took says no.

Speaker 2

10:38

Yeah. The video says no. Basic human decency says no. Even a magic 8 ball having seen that would say, holy shit, I can't believe you're even asking me!

Speaker 2

10:47

No! -$5,000. $5,000. $5,000.

Speaker 1

10:48

$5,000. $5,000. $5,000. $5,000.

Speaker 2

10:49

Look, our current bail system makes no sense, and it does a lot of harm. And the frustrating thing is, we've known this for a long time. Just watch this TV news special from 1964.

Speaker 22

11:02

Yes, the jails are bursting at the seams. A problem of great concern to New York City Commissioner of Correction, Anna Cross.

Speaker 19

11:09

Remaining in jail because you can't get bail is really being punished before you're even found guilty.

Speaker 1

11:15

As far

Speaker 19

11:15

as I was concerned, that was not just. That was destroying our concept of justice.

Speaker 2

11:21

That's right. This problem has been obvious since it was considered okay to wear a waste basket on your head.

Speaker 1

11:26

-♪ ♪ -♪

Speaker 2

11:27

LAUGHING AND APPLAUDING ♪ But look, here's... Here's the good news. There is a better way, and it's already in use in our federal courts and in Washington, D.C.

Speaker 17

11:37

Judges in Washington are allowed to set money bail only if the defendant can afford it. The results have been far fewer people spending time behind bars.

Speaker 23

11:46

We are the only city in America where tonight, at our jail, there is not a single man or woman who is sitting because they don't have the money to meet their money bond.

Speaker 2

12:00

And it's a testament, it's a testament... -...to the state of our justice system... -...WHOO!

Speaker 2

12:06

...That that qualifies as bragging, because that should be the norm. He's like a bus driver showing up at school saying, -"23 kids picked up, 23 kids dropped off, I pitched a perfect game. -...pre-trial services... -...works like this.

Speaker 2

12:22

After you're arrested, specialists assess if you're dangerous or a flight risk. If a judge decides that you're not, you can go home, and they may monitor you with things like drug tests or ankle monitors. They even call you to remind you of your court dates. It's a system built on interviews, pre-arranged appearances, and trust.

Speaker 2

12:41

Much like Scientology marriages, only in this case, much more effective. And... And pre-trial service programs have succeeded around the country in places ranging from Oregon to Florida. And it is a truly frightening state of affairs when Florida is a model for progressive change.

Speaker 2

12:59

It shouldn't be a judicial example for anything. Did you know, by the way, that under Florida law, if you possess over 5 grams of meth, you can marry it. That's a fact. That's a legal fact.

Speaker 2

13:10

That's an actual photo that ran in a newspaper's wedding section in Florida. And yet... And yet... Even counties in Florida recognized our money bail system is broken.

Speaker 2

13:22

And not only is pre-trial services better, it's cheaper. A recent assessment of 1 system showed it costing only a tenth as much as keeping someone locked up. Which makes sense, because calling someone to check in costs virtually nothing. This message brought to you by your mother.

Speaker 2

13:39

Your mother, she brought you into this world, and we'd like to hear your fucking voice once in a while. So... So... So, if pre-trial services are fairer, better and cheaper, why aren't we all using it?

Speaker 2

13:54

Well, maybe because thanks to reality shows, we think that this is what justice looks like.

Speaker 18

13:59

We're gonna hunt this scum down.

Speaker 15

14:01

-...down! Now! Now! -...now!

Speaker 15

14:03

-...now! Now! Now! -...now!

Speaker 2

14:04

Bad dog. -...now! Now!

Speaker 2

14:04

Now! Now! -...now! So...

Speaker 2

14:07

So maybe we just need a new kind of reality show to get us used to the alternative.

Speaker 24

14:15

You want tough? You want action?

Speaker 15

14:18

Move! Get on the ground!

Speaker 24

14:21

Meet Steve Karp. He's 1 of the most respected pretrial services case workers in the United States.

Speaker 5

14:29

So let's see. OK, it looks like you were ticketed with public urination. No priors.

Speaker 5

14:34

Seems like a one-off sort of thing. Can we count on you to be back here in 6 weeks for your trial? Of course. Great.

Speaker 5

14:42

We're done here.

Speaker 15

14:44

That's it? Anything we can talk about?

Speaker 5

14:48

I mean, no. This is a routine thing. Statistically, he's virtually guaranteed to turn out.

Speaker 5

14:53

We're done here. We're done here.

Speaker 24

15:00

They call Steve the Hand Grenade, And he works with a crack team of legal enforcers. Meet Debra.

Speaker 12

15:11

Oh, hello. This is Debra from pretrial services. I'm just calling to remind you about your upcoming court date this Thursday.

Speaker 12

15:19

Well, you're welcome.

Speaker 1

15:21

-♪♪♪♪

Speaker 24

15:22

They call her Dr. Pfizer

Speaker 1

15:24

-♪♪♪♪

Speaker 19

15:26

I feel like a cat, you know? Work? Rrrr!

Speaker 1

15:31

-♪♪♪♪

Speaker 19

15:33

All right, back to work.

Speaker 1

15:37

-♪♪♪♪

Speaker 24

15:39

And then there's Brett.

Speaker 5

15:41

So all these are risk assessments? This is all computerized, but, you know, I keep a, a hard copy, just in case.

Speaker 24

15:49

That's why they call him the Annihilator. And finally, Gerald, the guy in charge of urine tests.

Speaker 16

15:59

Clear. If there's something in there that's illegal, I'm gonna sniff it

Speaker 5

16:03

out, because that's what I do. I'm a piss sniffer. -$1,000.

Speaker 16

16:08

$1,000. We got 1.

Speaker 24

16:12

They call him the Nose.

Speaker 16

16:15

You really gonna make a TV show out of this? Who's gonna watch it?

Speaker 24

16:19

You will. Because this fall, we'll be bringing you all the thrills and excitement of pre-trial supervision as this elite team brings people to justice.

Speaker 5

16:30

Well, we don't bring them to justice. It's more like we make arrangements for them to bring themselves to justice.

Speaker 24

16:36

Ignore that. This show is full of high-stakes drama.

Speaker 6

16:40

You better pray I don't get you for Secret Santa this year.

Speaker 1

16:43

You are a

Speaker 12

16:43

f****** Deborah.

Speaker 24

16:46

And inter-office romance.

Speaker 12

16:48

Gerald is a bloodhound.

Speaker 16

16:50

Oh yeah, she wants me. And if it wasn't for all them cats, I would hit that. I would knock the bottom out

Speaker 24

16:57

of them. But most importantly, We take you closer to the action.

Speaker 1

17:07

♪

Speaker 15

17:07

Spilling out forms and filing them in triplicate ♪ ♪ We won't lock you up if your crime's not significant

Speaker 1

17:12

♪ ♪

Speaker 15

17:12

If you get a ticket for a public urination ♪ ♪ We won't lock you up till you lose your occupation ♪ ♪ We ain't kicking the door and screaming dead or alive ♪ ♪ This is an office job, we on the home mat fly The system works well, so there's no need for nervousness It's all in the game at Pretrial Services

Speaker 24

17:32

Pretrial Services Coming this fall to A&E. It's cost effective, mother f***er.

Speaker 1

17:45

You