Colorado Public Radio

DENVER – As state and local officials grapple with a jail overcrowding crisis across the state, some advocates are urging state judges to be more liberal about letting pre-trial defendants leave jail without paying a cash bond, particularly if they are not considered dangerous to themselves or others.

“We’ve heard a lot of complaints, frankly from rural jailers, that their jails are overcrowded or that they have 80 percent pre-trial detainees, many of whom have misdemeanors that don’t belong there,” said Rebecca Wallace, a lawyer at the American Civil Liberties Union. “They’re no danger to themselves or to anyone else.”

Judges struggling with these issues worry about getting rid of bail completely – saying it’s the only stick they have to make sure someone returns to court.

Read the rest of the story at Colorado Public Radio.