‘You never see the person again’: Trump signs executive order to block cashless bail — why some call it honest, others dangerous

President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order threatening to withhold or revoke federal funding from state and native governments that provide cashless bail, framing the apply as a direct menace to public security.“No cash. Come back in a couple of months, we’ll give you a trial. You never see the person again,” Trump mentioned moments earlier than signing the order.The directive requires Attorney General Pam Bondi to submit a listing inside 30 days of jurisdictions which have “substantially eliminated cash bail as a potential condition of pretrial release from custody for crimes that pose a clear threat to public safety and order.”What cashless bail isCashless bail insurance policies enable defendants to be launched from jail with out paying cash whereas awaiting trial. Traditionally, defendants pay bail and get well the cash if they seem in courtroom as required. Supporters of reform argue money bail penalizes the poor, retaining low-income defendants behind bars whereas wealthier people pays their means out. Critics, nonetheless, say eradicating bail dangers releasing violent offenders and undermines courtroom compliance.The Constitution’s Eighth Amendment prohibits extreme bail, however it doesn’t remove it as a situation of launch.Where it’s been appliedIllinois turned the first state in 2023 to abolish money bail after its Supreme Court upheld the SAFE-T Act, a sweeping prison justice reform handed in 2021. Judges in Illinois now decide pretrial launch primarily based on components corresponding to public security and flight danger relatively than monetary means.Other states and jurisdictions, together with New Jersey, New Mexico, and Washington, DC, have additionally largely eradicated or lowered reliance on money bail. Many complement the system with measures corresponding to courtroom date reminders, versatile scheduling, transportation help, and on-site childcare to enhance attendance charges.When it’s utilizedPolicies differ by state, however many jurisdictions exclude severe crimes corresponding to homicide and different violent offenses from eligibility. Judges might also deny launch if there’s a excessive danger of flight. In some circumstances, cashless bail is mechanically granted for misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies.The crime debateThe impact of cashless bail on crime stays contested. A 2024 Loyola University of Chicago report on Illinois’ regulation, one 12 months after implementation, concluded that crime had not elevated, with some counties reporting declines in violent and property offenses. Similarly, a 2024 Brennan Center for Justice examine masking 33 cities between 2015 and 2021 discovered “no statistically significant relationship” between bail reform and general crime charges.Still, the Trump administration cites proof to the opposite. A 2022 examine from the Yolo County, California, district lawyer’s workplace analyzed a brief cashless bail system launched statewide throughout the pandemic. Of 595 defendants launched between April 2020 and May 2021, 70.6% had been rearrested, with greater than half arrested a number of occasions.What comes subsequentTrump’s executive order is anticipated to set off authorized challenges, as prison justice reforms stay largely state-driven. Advocates for eliminating money bail argue that the president’s transfer criminalizes poverty and undermines reforms that promote equity. Critics of cashless bail, nonetheless, welcome the federal intervention, insisting it is important to defend communities from repeat offenders.The order underscores a deepening nationwide divide over how finest to steadiness equity in the prison justice system with public security considerations.