The Bail Project

Honor Juneteenth by giving someone access to equal justice.

Cash bail is an example of the inequality that persists long after June 19th, 1865. Black Americans are arrested at five times the rate of white Americans, and once in jail, courts impose bail amounts that are $10,000 higher on average. This leads to increased conviction rates, longer sentence lengths, and a higher likelihood of future involvement in the justice system for Black individuals. Free bail assistance breaks that cycle.

Our client, Tyree was separated from his daughters and family for 11 months while in jail pretrial. During that time, his brother died. Without The Bail Project, he would not have been able to return home. “That support helped so much,” he said. “I was able to get out there and help support my family.”

Stand with The Bail Project this Juneteenth to ensure everyone is treated with dignity – no matter the color of their skin or how much money they have. Give $19 for June 19th today!

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Tyree spent eleven months in jail researching case law, filing grievances, and becoming his own legal advocate.

He faced what is often called the "trial penalty" where prosecutors decide what charges to bring, what deal to offer, and what punishment someone could face if they reject the deal. The process felt stacked against him.

After nearly a year in jail, The Bail Project connected with Tyree and paid his bail. And the time he spent studying the law got him thinking. He wanted to take what he had learned about the system and use it to help others in a similar position. That's when he became a paralegal.

"I want to be that advocate. I want to be that voice. I don't want nobody to feel like they're just another folder on a desk."

The Cold Part of the System: The Trial Penalty and Its Human Cost A father working to rebuild his life is detained after an arrest, navigating what he says are gaps in care and accountability.

"The first time I started using, it was with my mother," Jimmy said. Then, just weeks before his 13th birthday, he used crystal m**h with his aunt. He describes addiction, instability, and gang violence as "familiar territory."

Jimmy worked hard to build an adult life that looked nothing like his childhood. He served as a minister for 17 years, and in that time, got married and had a son.

But then, Jimmy's mother moved back in with him. Three times, he came home to find her getting high in front of his child. He made what he called "the biggest decision of my life" and told her to leave. That night, she overdosed and died.

What happened next sent Jimmy into a downward spiral of relapse and incarceration. But with The Bail Project's help, it also led him back to himself. "I'm living proof that there is a way out."

Beyond Childhood Trauma: How One Father Broke a Cycle of Addiction and Incarceration Jimmy grew up inside addiction, instability, and childhood trauma, spending years trying to escape, eventually finding himself back in jail.