Why Global Citizens Should Care:
Approximately 2.3 million people are incarcerated in the United States and hundreds of thousands of them are in jail simply because they cannot afford to make bail. Criminal justice and cash bail reform are crucial to tackling the issues of poverty and discrimination in the US and Usher is calling on New York to take the lead. You can take action on this issue here.

Usher is starting off this year with a challenge to New York’s lawmakers: Make 2019 the year we end cash bail.

The singer called for bail reform, including a reduction in the number of people in jail and the protection of the constitutional right to due process, in a pair of tweets and an accompanying video on Thursday night.

“There are currently 16,000 people behind bars in New York state due to their inability to afford cash bail,” Usher, a Global Citizen Ambassador, said in the video.

He urged New York state legislators to end the cash bail system, which keeps many people in jail before they have been convicted of a crime, simply because they cannot afford to make bail.

Take Action: Tell New York's Governor to End Cash Bail and Set a Nationwide Precedent for Bail Reform

Governor Cuomo pledged to end the cash bail system in New York at the Global Citizen Festival last September, but Usher is holding his feet to the fire and pushing Cuomo to keep his promise.

Usher called for “real bail reform” in his tweet, outlining several measures that would encourage holistic and comprehensive reform of the system, including the elimination of racial discrimination in the criminal justice system.

People of color are arrested and incarcerated at disproportionate rates in the United States, and because people of color and people experiencing poverty are often overlapping demographics in the US, racial inequality is a major issue when it comes to criminal justice and cash bail reform.

Though the cash bail system was created as a means of ensuring that people would not skip out on their trials, it has become a tool that perpetuates the cycle of poverty.

Read More: Why It's a Crime to Be Poor in America

The US holds 25% of the total number of incarcerated people in the world in its jails and prisons — and hundreds of thousands of them have not yet been convicted of a crime. Because they cannot afford their bail (the national median is $10,000 for felonies), they may remain in jail for days, weeks, or even years.

Last year, California became the first state to do away with this system. However, activists have criticized the state for not going far enough and have expressed concern that the mechanism proposed to replace the cash bail system could lead to more pretrial detentions.

Usher and Global Citizen are calling on the state of New York to not only eliminate the cash bail system, but to set a nationwide example of progressive and comprehensive criminal justice reform.

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Usher Calls on New York to End Cash Bail and Set an Example for the US

By Daniele Selby