The Massachusetts Bail Fund (MBF) pays bail to secure freedom from pre-trial incarceration so that those who cannot afford their bail can be in their community to fight their case.

Pre-trial freedom allows individuals, families, and communities to stay productive, together, and stable. Massachusetts jails are filled with people awaiting trial simply because they cannot afford bail. Sitting in jail on bail leads to longer incarceration times, lost jobs, lost housing, and devastating disruption to families.

The MBF is committed to practicing harm-reduction by bringing home community members serving pre-trial sentences, and to working towards abolishing pre-trial detention and supervision in the long-term. The MBF sees itself as a radical direct service organization and a site for abolitionist imagination and advocacy. Please read about our demands and current work here.

HISTORY

When someone is arrested, a bail commissioner at the police station or a judge at the courthouse decides whether or not the individual will be required to provide money that will ensure that they return to court.  This money is their bail. If they cannot afford it, they will be held in jail until their case is over.

A group of defense attorneys and social workers noticed that cash bail was keeping their clients behind bars.  Many of their clients were spending months or years in jail awaiting the conclusion of their cases simply because they couldn't afford their bail, sometimes as little as $25.00.  As a result clients were forced out of their homes, jobs, and communities, making effective representation and treatment increasingly difficult. The Massachusetts Bail Fund was created to address this inequity. Using all donated funds, the Bail Fund provides bail assistance for low-income individuals. Since its inception in 2013, the bail fund has grown from a fully volunteer run operation to a staffed organization of five people in 2024. According to Massachusetts Law, bail is meant to ensure that people return to court.  The bail amount set by a judge does not always reflect the seriousness of a charge. Low bail can be set on any number of charges, including felonies.

THE ‘COST’ OF BAIL

Being held during the pretrial period has disastrous impacts on a person’s life. Incarceration of even a few days can have a serious impact on defendants' families, housing, employment, and health. People are fired from jobs, evicted from public housing, dropped from public assistance, and kicked out of shelters. Students miss classes and parents lose custody of their children. Undocumented and immigrant people are targeted by Immigration & Customs Enforcement for catching a criminal charge, many times exacerbating deportation proceedings. Despite this cost, research shows that reliance on cash bail is no better than effective pretrial conditions or phone or mail reminders in ensuring that a defendant returns to court to address his or her case.

People who are held during the pretrial period are more likely to be convicted and receive harsher sentences than those who are released on bail. The longer a person stays in jail, the more likely he or she is to plead guilty to a crime simply because doing so would ensure release. The desire to go home is a powerful motivator and is used as a bargaining chip by the prosecution in order to push for a plea. A defendant's ability to address legal charges while in the community rather than in jail results in better legal outcomes.