The problem with the U.S. bail system - Camilo Ramirez

翻译人员: Isabella Lu 校对人员: Yolanda Zhang

Since 2000, the annual number of people convicted of crimes in the United States

千禧年以来，

美国每年被判有罪的人数相对平稳，

has stayed steady, but the average number of people in jail each year has shot up.

但是看守所的平均拘留人数却暴增。

How can that be?

这是怎么一回事？

The answer lies in the bail system—

答案在于和初始目的 背道而驰的保释制度。

which isn’t doing what it was intended to do.

The term "bail" refers to the release of people awaiting trial

“保释”一词的意思是 等候受审的嫌犯

on condition that they return to court to face charges.

以回来出庭受审作为条件， 将他们暂时释放。

Countries around the world use many variations of bail,

不同国家有着不同的保释系统，

and some don’t use it at all.

有的则根本没有。

The U.S. bail system relies primarily on what’s called cash bail,

美国的保释系统基本建立在 现金保释的基础上，

which was supposed to work like this:

理论上应该是这么操作的：

When a person was accused of a crime,

当一个人被指控一项罪名时，

the judge would set a reasonable price for bail.

法官会制定一个合理的保释价，

The accused would pay this fee in order to be released from jail

被告人支付这个费用后 就可以离开看守所，

until the court reached a verdict on the case.

直到法院对案件做出判决。

Once the case ended, whether found guilty or innocent,

结案以后，不论是否被判有罪，

they’d get the bail money back if they made all their court appearances.

只要被告人参加了全部的听证会， 就可以拿回保释金。

The rationale behind this system is that under U.S. law,

这种系统的逻辑依据在于， 根据美国法律，

people are presumed innocent until proven guilty—

在一个人被证实有罪之前， 他都是清白的。

so someone accused of a crime should not be imprisoned

所以，除非已有法院判决他们有罪，

unless they’ve been convicted of a crime.

否则被控告有罪的人不该被关押。

But today, the bail system in the U.S.

但时至今日，美国的保释系统

doesn’t honor the presumption of innocence.

已不再是无罪推定原则的捍卫者，

Instead, it subverts peoples’ rights and causes serious harm,

而是侵犯人权， 造成极恶劣影响的加害者，

particularly to people in low-income communities

贫困人群和有色人种 受到的伤害尤甚。

and communities of color.

A key reason why is the cost of bail.

主要原因之一在于保释金的数额。

In order for cash bail to work as intended,

要想让现金保释发挥效用，

the price has to be affordable for the accused.

保释金额需要 在被告人的承受范围内，

The cost of bail wasn’t meant to reflect the likelihood of someone’s guilt—

数额多少并不代表 被判有罪的几率，

when bail is set, the court has not reviewed evidence.

金额确定之后, 法院才会公布案件证据。

Under exceptional circumstances, such as charges of very serious crimes,

特殊情况下 —— 比如被控罪名尤其恶劣的，

judges could deny bail and jail the accused before their trial.

法官有权拒绝保释， 并在开庭前拘禁被告人。

Judges were supposed to exercise this power very rarely,

按规定，法官应该只在 极少情况下行使这项权力，

and could come under scrutiny for using it too often.

如果使用次数太过频繁， 则可能面临审查。

Setting unaffordably high bail became a second path

设定难以负担的保释金额，

变成了阻止假释的另一种办法。

to denying people pretrial release.

Judges' personal discretion and prejudices played a huge role

这种情况下，谁去谁留极大地受到

法官的个人观点和偏见的影响。

in who they chose to detain this way.

Bail amounts climbed higher and higher, and more and more defendants couldn’t pay—

保释金数额水涨船高，

愈来愈多的被告人难以支付，

so they stayed in jail.

只能不得不留在看守所。

By the late 19th century,

直到十九世纪末，

these circumstances led to the rise of commercial bail bond companies.

这样的情况推动了 商业保释公司的崛起。

They pay a defendant’s bail, in exchange for a hefty fee the company keeps.

它们为被告人支付保释金， 以此得到一笔可观的报酬。

Today, the median bail is $10,000—

时至今日，保释金中位数 已经达到了一万美元，

a prohibitively high price for almost half of Americans,

这个价格对近半数的美国公民

and as many as nine out of ten defendants.

和九成的被告人来说，是一笔巨款。

If the defendant can’t pay,

如果被告人无法支付保释金，

they may apply for a loan from a commercial bail bond company.

他们可以选择向商业保释公司贷款。

It’s completely up to the company to decide whose bail they’ll pay.

而给与不给、给谁保释， 保释公司有完全自由的决定权。

They choose defendants they think will pay them back,

他们评估最有能力 偿还贷款的申请人，

turning a profit of about $2 billion each year.

每年能获得约 20 亿美元的利润。

In fact, in the past 20 years,

事实上，在过去的 20 年间，

pretrial detention has been the main driver of jail growth in America.

审前羁押已经成为 美国收押数量增长的主要动力。

Every year, hundreds of thousands of people

每年，成千上万无法支付保金 或获得贷款的人

who can’t afford bail or secure a loan stay in jail until their case is resolved.

被收押在看守所，直到结案。

This injustice disproportionately affects Americans who are Black and Latino,

黑人和拉丁裔 受到这种不公待遇的比例最高，

for whom judges often set higher bail

相比被控同样罪行的白人，

than for white people accused of the same offenses.

法官常给他们设定 更高的保释金费用。

Unaffordable bail puts even innocent defendants in an impossible position.

难以负担的保释金额 甚至让原本清白的被告人身陷囹圄，

Some end up pleading guilty to crimes they did not commit.

有些最终背负了莫须有的罪名。

For minor offenses, the prosecution may offer a deal that credits time

如果罪名较轻，检方可能会提出

如果被告被判有罪，

already spent in jail toward the accused’s sentence

可以将其在看守所呆的时间 同样算在服刑期内。

if they plead guilty.

Often, the time they’ve already spent in jail is the total length of the sentence,

很多时候，被告呆在看守所的时间 已经是刑期的总时长，

and they can go home immediately— but they leave with a criminal record.

如此一来，他们就可以立即回家， 但从此也将背负一份案底。

Defending their innocence, meanwhile,

反之，继续上诉捍卫自己的清白，

can mean staying in jail indefinitely awaiting trial—

则意味着无限期地等待审讯，

and doesn’t guarantee an innocent verdict.

并且不能保证最终判定无罪。

Bail may not even be necessary in the first place.

其实，保释金的存在可能并非必要，

Washington, D.C. largely abolished cash bail in the 1990s.

华盛顿特区在 1990 年代 取消了大部分的现金保释，

In 2017, the city released 94% of defendants without holding bail money,

2017 年，在未收取保释金的情况下， 特区释放了 94% 的被告，

and 88% of them returned to all their court dates.

其中 88% 的人出席了所有的庭审。

The nonprofit organization, The Bail Project,

非赢利组织 The Bail Project

provides free bail assistance to thousands of low-income people every year,

每年为数以千计的低收入人群 提供免费的保释金帮付，

removing the financial incentive that bail is designed to create.

消除了保释金想要带来的金钱桎梏。

The result? People come back to 90% of their court dates

结果如何？

在没有任何押金的情况下， 庭审出席率达到了 90%，

without having any money on the line,

and those who miss their court dates tended to

且错过庭审的原因大多是

because of circumstances like child care, work conflicts, or medical crises.

照顾小孩、工作无法抽身 或重大疾病等情况。

Studies have also found that holding people in jail before trial,

研究也同样发现，

因无法支付释金 而在开庭前拒绝释放被告，

often because they cannot afford cash bail,

actually increases the likelihood of rearrests and reoffending.

实际上增加了再犯罪 和再次拘捕的可能性。

The damage of incarcerating people before their trials

在被告人开庭前 就将其监禁带来的影响

extends to entire communities and can harm families for generations.

会对整个社区 和几代家庭造成伤害。

People who are incarcerated can lose their livelihoods, homes,

被拘留的人们可能会 失去饭碗、住所

and access to essential services—

以及基本服务设施的使用权，

all before they’ve been convicted of a crime.

这些都发生在他们被判有罪之前。

It’s also incredibly expensive:

审前羁押所需费用也极其高昂，

American taxpayers spend nearly $14 billion every year

美国每年税收中 有将近 140 亿美元

incarcerating people who are legally presumed innocent.

花费在拘禁那些 法律上假定无罪的人。

This undermines the promise of equal justice under the law,

这打破了法律面前不论种族和财富

人人平等的原则。

regardless of race or wealth.

The issues surrounding cash bail are symptomatic of societal problems,

有关保释金的种种其实是

类似结构性种族主义 和过度依赖监禁等

like structural racism and over-reliance on incarceration,

有待解决的社会问题的一种表现。

that need to be addressed.

In the meantime, reformers like The Bail Project

与此同时， The Bail Project 一类的改革者们

are working to help people trapped by cash bail

在孜孜不倦地帮助 因保释金而深陷困境的人们，

and to create a more just and humane pretrial system for the future.

以创造一个拥有更公平、 更人性化的审前制度的未来。