FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 2, 2017
CONTACT
Lindsay Kee, (615) 320-7142
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The state of Tennessee earned an “F” in the Pretrial Justice Institute’s new report on the quality of pretrial justice systems nationwide. The ACLU of Tennessee issued the following statement in response.
This statement can be attributed to Hedy Weinberg, ACLU-TN executive director:
“Tennessee’s bail system’s failing grade is, unfortunately, not surprising when thousands of people across our state remain in jail pretrial simply because they cannot afford to pay the price tag set on their freedom. Often judges impose money bail without inquiring about the person’s ability to pay or considering alternative, effective, non-financial conditions of release. This creates a two-tiered system of justice in our state where poor and working-class people remain behind bars while the wealthy walk free. The ACLU of Tennessee remains committed to reforming Tennessee’s unfair, discriminatory money bail system.”
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