Our Mission
The mission of the Philadelphia Community Bail Fund is to end cash bail and pretrial detention in our city. Until that day, we post bail for our neighbors who cannot afford to pay.
Our Impact so Far
From May 13, 2017 to February 24, 2023, we've bailed out 846 people held in Philadelphia jails simply because they could not afford to buy back their freedom. Roughly 37% of those who we've bailed out are women and over 90% are Black and Brown people. We've posted over $6,812,265 to secure our neighbors' freedom. That translates to roughly $68 million in set bail.
Help a Loved One
We are posting bail for a limited number of emergency cases each month. You can apply for help on the Bail Requests page.
We encourage those looking to support loved ones incarcerated in a Philadelphia prison to connect with a Participatory Defense Hub. Participatory Defense Hubs are like community support groups where people facing criminal charges, those who have been through the Criminal Justice system, and volunteers trained by the Philadelphia Defender Association workshop each others cases and offer court support. You can learn more at the Philadelphia Defender Association website.
We encourage those looking to support loved ones incarcerated in a Philadelphia prison to connect with a Participatory Defense Hub. Participatory Defense Hubs are like community support groups where people facing criminal charges, those who have been through the Criminal Justice system, and volunteers trained by the Philadelphia Defender Association workshop each others cases and offer court support. You can learn more at the Philadelphia Defender Association website.
A Message to Our Community
March 2, 2023
Dear Concerned Community Members,
The Philadelphia Community Bail Fund recognizes the deep pain and sorrow James Lambert Jr’s family and the community has felt since his death in June 2022. We are also heartbroken by this tragedy and we understand why our decision to post bail for the two children arrested in connection with his death has angered many and confused others. While we do not comment on individual cases or bail decisions, we wanted to explain our mission and the core values that inform our actions.
The Philadelphia Community Bail Fund was started in 2017 when a group of organizers raised money to pay bail to free Black mothers and caregivers in time for Mother’s Day. As of February 24, 2023, we've bailed out 846 people held in Philadelphia jails because they could not afford to buy back their freedom. We've posted over $6,812,265 to secure our neighbors' freedom. We have held a Youth Holiday Bail Out annually since the 2018-2019 holiday season where we raise money to post bail for youth charged as adults and held on high cash bails. We partner with the Youth Art & Self-empowerment Project to identify youth who are eligible for bail and to provide support for the youth and their families. We have bailed out 35 youth under this initiative and posted $566,880 in bail.
Our legal system claims to consider people accused of a crime innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Instead, pretrial detention punishes people with imprisonment before they have had their day in court. In Philadelphia, over 2000 people are imprisoned pretrial on cash bails that they cannot afford to pay. According to the law, bail is supposed to be set according to a person’s ability to pay that bail and should not be prohibitively high. Bail is not to be used as a pretext to imprison them until their trial. The purpose of bail is to ensure that a person accused of a crime returns to court. These principles were reaffirmed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in July of 2020. Unfortunately, in Philadelphia cash bail is routinely used as an excuse to imprison poor people. We have received requests for bail help from people who could not afford to pay even $30 to be free.
We are committed to ensuring that people are not incarcerated while awaiting trial simply due to poverty. We believe that people are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Pretrial detention punishes a person with incarceration before they have had their day in court. Pretrial detention treats an accused person as if they are disposable, harms their constitutional rights, and leads to poor justice outcomes. The vast majority of criminal cases in Philadelphia never reach the trial stage as people are pressured to accept plea deals simply because they can see no other path to gaining freedom beyond admitting guilt for a crime they may not have committed. Posting bail is part of our values-driven approach to creating more equitable justice outcomes within our community.
We also know that even a few days in jail can have lifelong consequences for people. Many of the people we’ve posted bail for have lost their jobs, homes, and custody of their children. Furthermore, people who accept plea deals because they have no other avenue to gain their freedom are also saddled with criminal records that follow them for life, impairing their ability to gain employment, to secure housing, or to pursue higher education.
We also believe that our government’s response to crime and violence in our communities creates and sustains cycles of harm that leaves everyone unsupported, fearful and vulnerable to being victimized by violence or even perpetuating it. We believe that our community is made safer when we address the underlying causes of harmful behavior, such as poverty, mental health issues, addiction, and systemic racism. We believe in restorative and transformative justice for all individuals who commit harm or are accused of committing harm. Our ultimate goal is to make our communities safer by connecting people with additional support and resources to prevent further harm. We envision a justice system that supports the healing of victims and the rehabilitation of people who’ve caused harm. And yes we believe it is possible.
Due to these core beliefs, we do not make our bail decisions solely based on charges or public opinion. Nor do we only help people who “shouldn't be in jail” or who are accused of committing nonviolent offenses. We are committed to applying the same values and practices to every request for bail help that we receive.
Our work goes beyond posting bail. Our process includes support interviews with friends or family members and jail visits where we can get an idea of what support a person needs to return to court and be successful when they return home. We work to ensure that people understand what it means if they have a stay away order and need to find alternative housing. We help people access resources like housing, addiction treatment, GED programming, mental health treatment, medical care, maternity support, youth mentoring, domestic violence support, and anger management classes. We provide reminders about court dates and give folk transportation assistance so they can get to court. We connect people with Participatory Defense Hubs to help them navigate their legal cases.
We acknowledge that our decisions may not be popular with everyone, but we stand behind our mission and the hundreds of people supported and empowered by our work. We also understand the limitations of our work. We cannot undo harm that has been done or restore lives that have been lost. Mr. Lambert’s death is a tragedy and should never have occurred. We hope his family receives the closure and healing that they deserve.
Signed,
The Philadelphia Community Bail Fund
Dear Concerned Community Members,
The Philadelphia Community Bail Fund recognizes the deep pain and sorrow James Lambert Jr’s family and the community has felt since his death in June 2022. We are also heartbroken by this tragedy and we understand why our decision to post bail for the two children arrested in connection with his death has angered many and confused others. While we do not comment on individual cases or bail decisions, we wanted to explain our mission and the core values that inform our actions.
The Philadelphia Community Bail Fund was started in 2017 when a group of organizers raised money to pay bail to free Black mothers and caregivers in time for Mother’s Day. As of February 24, 2023, we've bailed out 846 people held in Philadelphia jails because they could not afford to buy back their freedom. We've posted over $6,812,265 to secure our neighbors' freedom. We have held a Youth Holiday Bail Out annually since the 2018-2019 holiday season where we raise money to post bail for youth charged as adults and held on high cash bails. We partner with the Youth Art & Self-empowerment Project to identify youth who are eligible for bail and to provide support for the youth and their families. We have bailed out 35 youth under this initiative and posted $566,880 in bail.
Our legal system claims to consider people accused of a crime innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Instead, pretrial detention punishes people with imprisonment before they have had their day in court. In Philadelphia, over 2000 people are imprisoned pretrial on cash bails that they cannot afford to pay. According to the law, bail is supposed to be set according to a person’s ability to pay that bail and should not be prohibitively high. Bail is not to be used as a pretext to imprison them until their trial. The purpose of bail is to ensure that a person accused of a crime returns to court. These principles were reaffirmed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania in July of 2020. Unfortunately, in Philadelphia cash bail is routinely used as an excuse to imprison poor people. We have received requests for bail help from people who could not afford to pay even $30 to be free.
We are committed to ensuring that people are not incarcerated while awaiting trial simply due to poverty. We believe that people are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Pretrial detention punishes a person with incarceration before they have had their day in court. Pretrial detention treats an accused person as if they are disposable, harms their constitutional rights, and leads to poor justice outcomes. The vast majority of criminal cases in Philadelphia never reach the trial stage as people are pressured to accept plea deals simply because they can see no other path to gaining freedom beyond admitting guilt for a crime they may not have committed. Posting bail is part of our values-driven approach to creating more equitable justice outcomes within our community.
We also know that even a few days in jail can have lifelong consequences for people. Many of the people we’ve posted bail for have lost their jobs, homes, and custody of their children. Furthermore, people who accept plea deals because they have no other avenue to gain their freedom are also saddled with criminal records that follow them for life, impairing their ability to gain employment, to secure housing, or to pursue higher education.
We also believe that our government’s response to crime and violence in our communities creates and sustains cycles of harm that leaves everyone unsupported, fearful and vulnerable to being victimized by violence or even perpetuating it. We believe that our community is made safer when we address the underlying causes of harmful behavior, such as poverty, mental health issues, addiction, and systemic racism. We believe in restorative and transformative justice for all individuals who commit harm or are accused of committing harm. Our ultimate goal is to make our communities safer by connecting people with additional support and resources to prevent further harm. We envision a justice system that supports the healing of victims and the rehabilitation of people who’ve caused harm. And yes we believe it is possible.
Due to these core beliefs, we do not make our bail decisions solely based on charges or public opinion. Nor do we only help people who “shouldn't be in jail” or who are accused of committing nonviolent offenses. We are committed to applying the same values and practices to every request for bail help that we receive.
Our work goes beyond posting bail. Our process includes support interviews with friends or family members and jail visits where we can get an idea of what support a person needs to return to court and be successful when they return home. We work to ensure that people understand what it means if they have a stay away order and need to find alternative housing. We help people access resources like housing, addiction treatment, GED programming, mental health treatment, medical care, maternity support, youth mentoring, domestic violence support, and anger management classes. We provide reminders about court dates and give folk transportation assistance so they can get to court. We connect people with Participatory Defense Hubs to help them navigate their legal cases.
We acknowledge that our decisions may not be popular with everyone, but we stand behind our mission and the hundreds of people supported and empowered by our work. We also understand the limitations of our work. We cannot undo harm that has been done or restore lives that have been lost. Mr. Lambert’s death is a tragedy and should never have occurred. We hope his family receives the closure and healing that they deserve.
Signed,
The Philadelphia Community Bail Fund
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