(AP) — A national effort helping to bail poor and low-income people out of jail has formally announced its expansion into the Deep South.
“Bail Out the South” is the next phase of the Bail Project’s plans to secure freedom for thousands of people over the next few years, organizers told The Associated Press.
The South continues to have the highest jail incarceration rates and the starkest racial disparities among those imprisoned pretrial.
Since its launch in 2018, the national Bail Project says it has paid $41 million to bail out more than 15,500 people in more than 24 cities, reducing collateral consequences such as loss of jobs, housing and child custody.
