JLUSA leader David Gaspar on Rattling the Bars

“While the underlying logic of the cash bail system in the U.S. may sound convincing on paper, in practice it has become a means of denying justice to, and destroying the lives of, people who have not even been convicted of a crime. ‘The U.S. Constitution prohibits excessive bail,’ The Bail Project notes on their website. ‘Excessive bail forces people to stay in jail — even though they’ve not been convicted of anything. Unfortunately, today judges routinely set bail amounts that exceed what most people can afford. The result? Jails are full of people waiting for trial. They are presumed innocent on paper, but in practice, they are being held for weeks, months, and sometimes years as they wait for trial.’ David Gaspar, CEO of The Bail Project, joins Mansa Musa on Rattling the Bars to talk about how cash bail creates a two-tier system of justice that punishes people for the ‘crime’ of being poor — and what we can do about it.”

We are excited to be honoring David Gaspar with a Leading with Conviction™ Award at this year’s JustLeadershipUSA benefit gala on Monday, June 5 in New York City! Get free access to view the livestream now.

Watch David Gaspar’s interview on Rattling the Bars: