Coalition for Pretrial Justice Calls for End to Cash Bail

Members of the Connecticut Coalition for Pretrial Justice planted 3,500 flags at the State Capitol last week: one for every signature on their petition to change the pretrial justice system, and matching the roughly 3,500 people incarcerated pretrial in Connecticut on any given day.

The Coalition is building a statewide campaign going door-to-door, visiting churches, community meetings, and holding events. The 3,500 signed petitions were gathered over the past ten months through in-person conversations about the harmful effects of cash bail.

When asked to reckon with the fact that nearly 1-in-3 people in Connecticut prisons have not been found guilty of their alleged crimes, members of the public readily sign-on to the campaign for change.  

“We must create a justice system that prioritizes rehabilitation over punishment, where access to freedom is not determined by wealth,” said Next Level Empowerment Program, a co-founding organization of the Connecticut Coalition for Pretrial Justice.

“Community is the driving force behind the reforms we’re fighting for,” explained Rev. Scott Marks, Executive Director of New Haven Rising. “We are building a campaign to lift up and empower the communities most harmed by the current system. It’s about organizing the people of this state to demand an end to this two-tiered system of justice, where if you’re rich you can buy your freedom, and if you’re poor you’re punished while you’re supposed to be presumed innocent.” 

“We know in whose neighborhoods these flags would be planted if we placed one at every doorstep of more than 15,000 people who were booked into Connecticut’s prison system pretrial last year,” he said. “Black and brown communities in Connecticut are policed more, charged more and detained more.”

The Coalition is building momentum ahead of the 2027 legislative session. Cash bail systems have been ended in Illinois, New Jersey and New York.

“No one belongs in jail because they can’t pay. No one belongs in jail because they were a little bit late. No one belongs in jail who is not convicted. This is simple,” remarked Sen. Gary Winfield, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee.