New York City's jail system has been notoriously backed up with detainees serving time for non-violent offenses, sometimes waiting years for trial, such as the recent case of Kalief Browder.

Mayor Bill de Blasio recently released a statement proclaiming that bail will be eliminated for non-violent offenses, in hopes that low-income defendants will not be stuck in jail due to inability to pay their bail.

De Blasio says, “There is a very real human cost to how our criminal justice system treats people while they wait for trial. Money bail is a problem because — as the system currently operates in New York — some people are being detained based on the size of their bank account, not the risk they pose.”

A $17.8 million fund will be initiatied by the city, of which $13.8 million will come from assets collected by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., and the other $4 million by the city itself.

De Blasio hopes that this fund will substitute bail for a contemporary check-in system, providing trust and power within communities rather than at the hands of correction facilities.

Cover image: Wikimedia Commons