The Grotesque Criminalization of Poverty in America

(May 16) – If you are arrested for a serious crime, you’re supposed to be taken to jail and booked. Then there’s some sort of hearing, and if the judge doesn’t think you will skip town or commit more crimes, you are either released on your own recognizance, or you post bail, and you are free until a pre-trial hearing. After that, you either go to trial, or plead guilty and accept punishment.