What if we ended the injustice of bail? | Robin Steinberg

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Melody Tang

I will never forget the first time I visited a client in jail.

我永遠忘不了我第一次 到監獄見一位客戶的經驗。

The heavy, metal door slammed behind me,

沉重的金屬門在我背後砰一聲關上，

and I heard the key turn in the lock.

我聽見鑰匙在鎖中轉動的聲音。

The cement floor underneath me had a sticky film on it

我腳下的水泥地板上面有一層黏膜，

that made a ripping sound,

產生一種撕扯的聲音，

like tape being pulled off a box,

每當我動一下腳就會發出

every time I moved my foot.

一種像是把膠帶 從盒子上撕下來的聲音。

The only connection to the outside world was a small window placed too high to see.

和外面世界唯一的連結 只有高高在上的一扇小窗。

There was a small, square table bolted to the floor

那裡有一個方形小桌子， 被用螺栓固定在地板上，

and two metal chairs,

還有兩張金屬椅子，

one on either side.

一邊一張。

That was the first time I understood viscerally --

那是我第一次從內心了解到——

just for a fleeting moment --

僅僅在一瞬間——

what incarceration might feel like.

被監禁可能會有什麼感覺。

And I promised myself all those years ago as a young, public defender

那麼多年前，身為一位 年輕的公設辯護律師，

that I would never, ever forget that feeling.

我向自己許諾， 永遠不要忘記那種感覺。

And I never have.

我從來沒忘記。

It inspired me to fight for each and every one of my clients' freedom

它鼓舞了我，讓我為 每一位客戶的自由而戰，

as if it was my own.

如同是為自己的自由而戰。

Freedom.

自由。

A concept so fundamental to the American psyche

對美國人來說，這個概念非常基本，

that it is enshrined in our constitution.

它是我們憲法的核心。

And yet, America is addicted to imprisonment.

然而，美國卻對監禁上了癮。

From slavery through mass incarceration,

從奴隸制度到大量監禁，

it always has been.

一直都是如此。

Look, we all know the shocking numbers.

我們都知道這些數字有多驚人。

The United States incarcerates more people per capita

在美國被監禁的人均

than almost any nation on the planet.

幾乎比地球上任何國家都高。

But what you may not know is that on any given night in America,

但各位可能不知道， 在美國的任何一個夜晚，

almost half a million people go to sleep in those concrete jail cells

有將近 50 萬人在還未被定罪前，

who have not been convicted of anything.

被關在那種水泥監獄的牢房裡過夜。

These mothers and fathers and sons and daughters

這些母親們、父親們、 兒子們、女兒們

are there for one reason and one reason only:

身在牢中的原因只有一個，

they cannot afford to pay the price of their freedom.

他們付不起自由的價碼。

And that price is called bail.

那個價碼，就稱為「保釋金」。

Now, bail was actually created as a form of conditional release.

保釋金最初是被設計為 有條件釋放的一種形式。

The theory was simple:

理論很簡單：

set bail at an amount that somebody could afford to pay --

把保釋金設定在某人 負擔得起的價格，

they would pay it --

他們就會付這筆錢，

it would give them an incentive to come back to court;

這樣做會給他們 一個回到法庭的動機；

it would give them some skin in the game.

讓他們為此自掏腰包。

Bail was never intended to be used as punishment.

保釋金的本意從來 就不是要當作懲罰。

Bail was never intended to hold people in jail cells.

保釋金的本意從來就不是 要把人拘留在監獄牢房中。

And bail was never, ever intended to create a two-tier system of justice:

保釋金的本意從來就不是 要創造雙重的司法體制：

one for the rich and one for everybody else.

一重是給富人的， 另一重則是給其他人的。

But that is precisely what it has done.

但它的結果卻是如此。

Seventy-five percent of people in American local jails

在美國的地方監獄中， 有 75％ 的人

are there because they cannot pay bail.

因為付不出保釋金被監禁。

People like Ramel.

就像拉梅爾。

On a chilly October afternoon,

在一個冷颼颼的十月下午，

Ramel was riding his bicycle in his South Bronx neighborhood

拉梅爾在他的南布朗克斯 街坊騎著他的腳踏車，

on his way to a market to pick up a quart of milk.

前往市場去買一夸脫的牛奶。

He was stopped by the police.

他被警察攔下。

And when he demanded to know why he was being stopped,

當他要求知道為什麼他被攔下時，

an argument ensued, and the next thing he knew,

與警察發生了爭執， 他所知道的下一件事，

he was on the ground in handcuffs,

就是他被壓在地上戴上手銬，

being charged with "riding your bicycle on the sidewalk

被指控「在人行道上騎腳踏車

and resisting arrest."

以及拒捕。」

He was taken to court,

他被送上法庭，

where a judge set 500 dollars bail.

法官把保釋金設為美金 500 元。

But Ramel -- he didn't have 500 dollars.

但拉梅爾沒有 500 元。

So this 32-year-old father was sent to "The Boat" --

這位 32 歲的父親被送上「船」——

a floating jail barge that sits on the East River

一台大型監獄平底船，浮在東河上，

between a sewage plant and a fish market.

在一個汙水處理場和 一個漁貨市場之間。

That's right, you heard me.

你們沒聽錯。

In New York City, in 2018,

2018 年，在紐約市，

we have a floating prison barge that sits out there

我們在那裡有一座漂浮監獄平底船，

and houses primarily black and brown men

裡面關的主要是黑色和棕色皮膚，

who cannot pay their bail.

且付不出保釋金的人。

Let's talk for a moment

咱們來談一下

about what it means to be in jail even for a few days.

坐牢是什麼滋味，即使只坐幾天牢。

Well, it can mean losing your job,

坐牢可能意味著失去你的工作，

losing your home,

失去你的房子，

jeopardizing your immigration status.

危及你的移民身份。

It may even mean losing custody of your children.

甚至可能意味著失去孩子的監護權。

A third of sexual victimization by jail staff

有 1/3 被監獄人員性侵的人，

happens in the first three days in jail,

是在入獄的前 3 天內發生。

and almost half of all jail deaths, including suicides,

監獄中的死亡，包括自殺，

happen in that first week.

有將近一半在第一週內發生。

What's more, if you're held in jail on bail,

不只如此，如果你因為 付不起保釋金而坐牢，

you're four times more likely to get a jail sentence

你被判刑入獄的可能性

than if you had been free,

是保釋在外的人的 4 倍，

and that jail sentence will be three times longer.

且刑期會是保釋在外者的３倍長。

And if you are black or Latino and cash bail has been set,

如果你是黑人或拉丁裔， 且已經被裁定了現金交保的金額，

you are two times more likely to remain stuck in that jail cell

你被拘留在監獄牢房的可能性，

than if you were white.

比白人高２倍。

Jail in America is a terrifying, dehumanizing and violent experience.

在美國坐牢是非常駭人、 無人性，且暴力的經驗。

Now imagine for just one moment that it's you stuck in that jail cell,

稍微試想一下，如果被困在 監獄牢房中的人是你，

and you don't have the 500 dollars to get out.

你沒有 ＄500 可以脫身。

And someone comes along and offers you a way out.

有人來找你，提供你一條出路。

"Just plead guilty," they say.

他們說：「你只要認罪。

"You can go home back to your job.

你就可以回家，回去工作。

Just plead guilty.

只要認罪就好了。

你晚上就可以親吻 你的孩子道晚安。」

You can kiss your kids goodnight tonight."

So you do what anybody would do in that situation.

所以，你會做每個人 在那種情況下會做的事，

You plead guilty whether you did it or not.

不管是否犯下那個罪行，你認罪了。

But now you have a criminal record

但，現在你就有了犯罪記錄，

that's going to follow you for the rest of your life.

它會在你餘生一直跟隨著你。

Jailing people because they don't have enough money to pay bail

把沒錢支付保釋金的人打入大牢，

is one of the most unfair, immoral things we do as a society.

是我們這個社會所做出 最不公平、不道德的事情之一。

But it is also expensive and counterproductive.

這麼做不僅昂貴還有反效果。

American taxpayers --

美國納稅人

they spend 14 billion dollars annually holding people in jail cells

每年要花 1400 億美元，

把還沒有被定罪的人關在牢裡。

who haven't been convicted of anything.

That's 40 million dollars a day.

平均一天 4000 萬美元。

What's perhaps more confounding is it doesn't make us any safer.

更莫名其妙的是， 這麼做並沒有讓我們更安全。

Research is clear that holding somebody in jail

研究清楚指出， 當一個人被關在牢裡，

makes you significantly more likely to commit a crime when you get out

他在出獄後會犯罪的機率

than if you had been free all along.

顯著地比一直是自由身的人更高。

Freedom makes all the difference.

自由能夠造成很大的不同。

Low-income communities

低收入社區和有色人種社區

and communities of color have known that for generations.

數世代以來都很清楚這一點。

Together, they have pooled their resources to buy their loved ones freedom

他們一起想辦法合資 買回他們所愛的人的自由，

for as long as bondage and jail cells existed.

從有奴隸和監獄存在以來就一直如此。

But the reach of the criminal legal system has grown too enormous,

但刑事司法體制能觸及的範圍 已經成長到太龐大，

and the numbers are just too large.

數字已經太大了。

Ninety-nine percent of jail growth in America has been the result --

美國監獄的成長當中， 有 99％ 的成因——

over the last 20 years --

在過去 20 年間——

of pre-trial incarceration.

都是審判前的監禁。

I have been a public defender for over half my life,

我半生的時間擔任公設辯護律師，

and I have stood by and watched thousands of clients

我曾站在數千名客戶的身邊，

as they were dragged into those jail cells

看著他們被拖入監獄牢房，

because they didn't have enough money to pay bail.

只因為他們沒錢支付保釋金。

I have watched as questions of justice were subsumed by questions of money,

我看著正義的問題變成了錢的問題，

calling into question the legitimacy of the entire American legal system.

讓人懷疑美國司法體制的正當性。

I am here to say something simple --

我來這裡要談的事情很簡單、

something obvious,

很明顯，

but something urgent.

卻也很急迫。

Freedom makes all the difference,

自由能造成很大的不同，

and freedom should be free.

自由應該是免費的。

(Applause)

（掌聲）

But how are we going to make that happen?

但我們要如何實現它？

Well, that's the question I was wrestling with over a decade ago

那是我十多年以前 就努力想要解決的問題，

when I was sitting at a kitchen table with my husband, David,

當時我和我老公大衛坐在餐桌前，

他也是公設辯護律師。

who is also a public defender.

We were eating our Chinese takeout and venting about the injustice of it all

我們一邊吃外帶的中國菜， 一邊發洩抱怨這些不公正，

when David looked up and said,

那時，大衛抬起頭，說：

"Why don't we just start a bail fund,

「我們為何不設立保釋金基金，

and just start bailing our clients out of jail?"

把我們的客戶從監獄中保釋出來？」

And in that unexpected moment,

在那未預期的時刻，

the idea for the Bronx Freedom Fund was born.

布朗克斯自由基金的 點子就這麼誕生了。

Look, we didn't know what to expect.

我們當時不知道該期待什麼。

There were plenty of people that told us we were crazy

有很多人告訴我們說我們瘋了，

and we were going to lose all of the money.

說我們會失去所有的錢。

大家不會回來，因為他們 沒有利害關係在其中。

People wouldn't come back because they didn't have any stake in it.

But what if clients did come back?

但如果客戶確實回來了呢？

We knew that bail money comes back at the end of a criminal case,

我們知道保釋金的錢會在 刑事案件終了時還回來，

so it could come back into the fund,

所以它會回到基金中，

and we could use it over and over again for more and more bail.

我們可以不斷重覆使用它 來做更多的保釋。

That was our big bet,

那是我們的大賭注，

and that bet paid off.

而這賭注得到了回報。

Over the past 10 years,

在過去 10 年，

we have been paying bails for low-income residents of New York City,

我們一直在為低收入的 紐約市居民支付保釋金，

and what we have learned has exploded our ideas

我們所學到的，打破了我們對於

of why people come back to court

為什麼大家會返回到法庭，

and how the criminal legal system itself is operated.

以及刑事司法體制本身 如何運作的想法。

Turns out money isn't what makes people come back to court.

我們發現，錢並不是 讓大家回到法庭的原因。

We know this because when the Bronx Freedom Fund pays bail,

我們知道這點，是因為當保釋金 是由布隆克斯自由基金支付時，

96 percent of clients return for every court appearance,

96 ％的客戶每次出庭時都會到場，

laying waste to the myth that it's money that mattered.

打破了拿回保釋金是主要動機的謎思。

It's powerful evidence that we don't need cash

這是個強力證據， 證明我們不需要現金，

or ankle bracelets

或電子腳鐐，

or unnecessary systems of surveillance and supervision.

或不必要的監控和監視系統。

We simply need court reminders --

我們只需要法庭提醒——

simple court reminders about when to come back to court.

簡單的法庭提醒， 告訴我們何時要回去出庭。

Next, we learned that if you're held in jail on a misdemeanor,

接著，我們學到的是， 如果你是因為輕罪入獄，

90 percent of people will plead guilty.

90％ 的人會選擇認罪。

But when the fund pays bail,

但如果由基金支付保釋金，

over half the cases are dismissed.

一半以上的案件被駁回。

And in the entire history of the Bronx Freedom Fund,

在布朗克斯自由基金的整個歷史上，

fewer than two percent of our clients have ever received a jail sentence

我們的客戶中只有不到 ２％

最後被判任何一類的徒刑．

of any kind.

(Applause)

（掌聲）

Ramel, a week later --

一週後，拉梅爾還在船上，

he was still on the boat, locked in that jail cell.

還被關在牢房裡。

He was on the cusp of losing everything,

他處於即將失去一切的關口，

and he was about to plead guilty,

他已經準備認罪，

and the Bronx Freedom Fund intervened and paid his bail.

而布朗克斯自由基金介入了， 支付了他的保釋金。

Now, reunited with his daughter,

現在，他和女兒團聚了，

he was able to fight his case from outside.

他可以從外面來打這場官司。

Look, it took some time --

花了些時間，

two years, to be exact --

明確來說是２年，

but at the end of that,

但最後，

his case was dismissed in its entirety.

他的案件完全被駁回。

For Ramel --

對拉梅爾而言——

(Applause)

（掌聲）

For Ramel, the Bronx Freedom Fund was a lifeline,

對拉梅爾而言， 布朗克斯自由基金是他的生命線，

but for countless other Americans locked in jail cells,

但對其他無數被關在 監獄牢房中的美國人而言，

there is no freedom fund coming.

沒有自由基金來幫他們。

It's time to do something about that.

為此，該是做點什麼的時候了。

It's time to do something big.

該是做點什麼大事的時候了。

It's time to do something bold.

該是無畏地做點什麼的時候了。

It's time to do something, maybe, audacious?

也許，該是大膽妄為的時候了？

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

We want to take our proven, revolving bail-fund model

我們想要用我們在布朗克斯區 建立，且已經證實有用的

that we built in the Bronx

循環式保釋金模型，

and spread it across America,

把它傳播到整個美國，

attacking the front end of the legal system

去攻擊司法體制的前端，

before incarceration begins.

在監禁之前就先攻擊。

(Applause)

（掌聲）

(Cheers)

（歡呼）

(Applause)

（掌聲）

Here's the plan.

計畫如下。

(Applause)

（掌聲）

We're going to bail out as many people as we can

我們要盡可能把更多人保釋出來，

as quickly as we can.

且盡快做到。

Over the next five years,

在接下來５年，

partnering with public defenders and local community organizations,

與公設辯護律師 及地方社區組織合作，

we're going to set up 40 sites in high-need jurisdictions.

我們將會在有高度需求的 轄區內設立 40 個點。

The goal is to bail out 160,000 people.

目標是要保釋 16 萬人。

Our strategy leverages the fact

為了使我們的策略要發揮功效，

that bail money comes back at the end of a case.

保釋金需要在案件結束後 能夠拿回來。

Data from the Bronx

來自布朗克斯的資料

shows that a dollar can be used two or three times a year,

顯示在一年內， 每一元能夠被使用 2～3 次，

creating a massive force multiplier.

創造出很巨大的倍數力量。

So a dollar donated today can be used to pay bail for up to 15 people

所以今天捐獻的 1 元， 在接下來 5 年，可以被用來支付

over the next five years.

高達 15 個人的保釋金。

Our strategy also relies on the experience and the wisdom and the leadership

我們的策略也要仰賴那些 第一手經驗到不公平的人

of those who have experienced this injustice firsthand.

所提供的經驗、智慧與領導能力。

(Applause)

（掌聲）

Each bail project site will be staffed by a team of bail disrupters.

每個保釋專案據點都會 有一個保釋破壞者團隊。

These are passionate, dedicated advocates from local communities,

他們都是來自當地社區， 有熱忱、肯投入的擁護者，

many of whom were formerly incarcerated themselves,

當中有許多人自己曾被監禁過，

who will pay bails and support clients

他們會支付保釋金並在客戶的案件

while their cases are going through the legal system,

經過司法體制的過程中支持他們，

providing them with whatever resources and support they may need.

提供任何他們需要的資源及支助。

Our first two sites are up and running.

我們的前兩個據點已經上路了。

One in Tulsa, Oklahoma,

一個在奧克拉荷馬州的土爾沙市，

and one in St. Louis, Missouri.

另一個在密蘇里州的聖路易市。

And Ramel?

而拉梅爾呢？

He's training right now to be a bail disrupter in Queens County, New York.

他正在受訓，為了要成為 紐約皇后區的保釋破壞者。

(Applause)

（掌聲）

Our next three sites are ready to launch

我們接下來的三個 據點也準備營運了，

in Dallas, Detroit and Louisville, Kentucky.

在達拉斯、底特律， 以及肯塔基州的路易維爾。

The Bail Project will attack the money bail system

保釋專案將會攻擊金錢保釋體制，

on an unprecedented scale.

且攻勢是史無前例的。

We will also listen, collect and elevate

我們也會傾聽、收集、提升，

and honor the stories of our clients

並向我們客戶的故事致敬，

so that we can change hearts and minds,

使我們能去改變人的心和想法，

and we will collect critical, national data

我們也會收集重要的全國性資料。

that we need so we can chart a better path forward

我們需要這些資料 才能找出更好的方式向前行，

才不會只是讓這壓迫體制 以另一種形式重現。

so that we do not recreate this system of oppression in just another form.

The Bail Project,

保釋專案

by bailing out 160,000 people over the next five years,

要在接下來 5 年保釋出 16 萬人，

will become one of the largest non-governmental decarcerations

它將會成為美國史上最大的

非政府主導的解除監禁行動。

of Americans in history.

So look --

所以，

(Applause)

（掌聲）

the criminal legal system, as it exists --

刑事司法體制，只要它繼續存在，

it needs to be dismantled.

它就需要被拆除。

But here's the thing I know from decades in the system:

以我在這個體制中數十年的經驗，

real, systemic change takes time,

我知道真正的體制改變會需要時間，

and it takes a variety of strategies.

也需要各種策略才能辦到。

So it's going to take all of us.

所以，它需要我們所有人參與。

It's going to take the civil rights litigators,

它需要民權訴訟律師、

the community organizers, the academics, the media, the philanthropists,

社區組織者、學界、媒體、慈善家、

the students, the singers, the poets,

學生、歌手、詩人，

and, of course, the voices and efforts of those who are impacted by this system.

當然，它也需要在這個體制中 受到影響的人能發聲並貢獻心力。

But here's what I also know:

但，我還知道一件事：

together, I believe we can end mass incarceration.

我相信，如果我們同心協力， 就能終止大規模監禁。

But one last thing:

還有最後一件事：

those people, sitting in America, in those jail cells,

那些人，在美國各地的監獄裡，

in every corner of the country,

who are held in jail on bail bondage, right now --

現在只因為付不出保釋金 而被迫坐牢的那些人，

they need a lifeline today.

他們現在就需要生命線。

That's where The Bail Project comes in.

這就是保釋專案派上用場的地方。

We have a proven model, a plan of action,

我們有已經證明的模型、行動計畫，

and a growing network of bail disrupters

還有不斷成長的保釋破壞者網路，

who are audacious enough to dream big and fight hard,

這些人夠大膽無畏， 敢作大夢並努力奮戰，

one bail at a time, for as long it takes,

一個人一個人去保釋， 不論要花多少時間，

until true freedom and equal justice are a reality in America.

直到真正的自由和平等的正義 成為美國的現實。

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Applause)

（掌聲）