'Unjust?' Cash bail reform advocates react to controversial new law

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp this week signed a controversial cash bail bill into law in a move that bail reform advocates see as unraveling decades of progress on criminal justice policies. The law will take effect on July 1.

Senate Bill 63 adds 30 additional felony and misdemeanor crimes to the list of bail-restricted offenses, meaning that those accused of crimes would be required to post cash bail. It also prevents any individual or organization from posting cash bail more than three times each year.  Surety bonds, used by bail bond agents, will not be capped under the new law.

Under the previous law, only 14 crimes — mainly violent offenses — mandated the use of cash bail. However, starting in July, crimes such as unlawful assembly, failing to appear in court for a traffic violation, and possession of marijuana will be added to the list.

More: Georgia Senate passes bill adding 30 crimes that require bail; also makes it harder to post bail

SB 63 serves as a sharp reversal to more than two decades of criminal justice reform in Georgia, including a 2018 law championed by former governor Nathan Deal that sought to make the legal system more equitable for those accused of nonviolent misdemeanors. It has been widely criticized by civil rights groups, criminal justice reform advocates and legal experts alike.

Darren Lenard Hutchinson, the faculty director of the Center for Civil Rights and Social Justice at Emory University, says that mandating cash bail has been proven to disproportionately impact low-income communities, who sometimes cannot afford bail, as well as people of color, who often receive higher bail amounts than their white counterparts.

“Studies indicate maybe 30% to 50% of people detained pre-trial are there because they can't afford to pay the bail,” Hutchinson said. “A lot of them, the point at which bail becomes unaffordable could be as low as $1,000, or it could be $2500. On some level, it doesn't look big to a lot of people, but when you think about people in poverty, that's a significant amount of money."

People who can’t make bail are also “more likely to be convicted,” Hutchinson added. “Some of the reasons are that they cannot talk to witnesses easily, they can't access their attorneys as frequently as they would if they were not in jail. Building a successful case for yourself becomes much more difficult if you are detained before trial.”

The newly-imposed annual limit on posting bail also received criticism from a wide array of nonprofits and religious groups. The Athens Area Courtwatch Project, a group of volunteers who serve as watchdogs in the Athens-Clarke County court system, say the law will severely restrict their ability to assist marginalized Georgians with bail relief. So far in 2024, they have provided bail money for 25 individuals, and have assisted nearly 100 total since they began their cash bail initiative in 2021.

“It is unjust that some people are punished based on arrest, not a conviction, and must sit in jail for months prior to their court date because they cannot afford to pay mandatory cash bail,” the Athens Area Courtwatch Project said in a statement. “The new bail law will clearly exacerbate Athens-Clarke County's incarceration rate, thereby increasing crime and taxpayer costs. It will keep more people behind bars for non-violent offenses. While they are locked up they will lose jobs, housing, and contact with family members.”

The Georgia chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union also opposed the legislation, announcing plans to sue Kemp over the bill in a statement released shortly after a signing ceremony on Wednesday.

“SB 63 is cruel, costly, and counterproductive,” the statement reads. “Research shows that sweeping people into incarceration only increases crime and taxpayer costs, and yet Georgia locks up a higher percentage of its people than any other state in the country. SB 63 doubles down on that position, forcing even more people to languish in jail because they are poor or mentally ill. We are very disappointed that Gov. Kemp has sacrificed the good of Georgia for political gain. The ACLU of Georgia will challenge SB 63 in the courts to stop it from going into effect.”

At a bill signing ceremony hosted at the Georgia Public Safety Training Center in Forsyth, Georgia, Kemp lauded the state legislature for its work on the measure.

“This bill carries out important bail reforms that will ensure dangerous individuals cannot walk our streets and commit further crimes,” Kemp said of the bill, which was introduced by state Sen. Randy Robertson (R-Cataula).

“I am proud to sign legislation that boosts our recruitment of law enforcement officers, makes our communities safer, and provides our judicial system with even tougher tools to bring violent offenders to justice."

Crimes that will require bail under SB63

• Murder or felony murder

• Armed robbery

• Kidnapping

• Rape

• Aggravated child molestation

• Aggravated sodomy

• Aggravated sexual battery

• Aggravated assault

• Aggravated battery

• Hijacking a motor vehicle in the first degree

• Aggravated stalking

• Child molestation

• Enticing a child for indecent purposes

• Pimping

• Robbery

• Burglary

• Bail jumping

• Escape

• Possession of a firearm or knife during the commission of or attempt to commit certain crimes

• Possession of firearms by convicted felons and first offender probationers

• Trafficking in cocaine, illegal drugs, marijuana, or methamphetamine

• Participating in criminal gang activity

• Habitual violator

• Driving under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or other intoxicating substances

• Entering an automobile or other mobile vehicle with intent to commit theft or felony

• Stalking

• Crimes involving family violence

• Reckless stunt driving, provided that such offense is the person's second or subsequent offense

• Promoting or organizing an exhibition of drag races or laying drags

• Laying drags

• Reckless driving, provided that such offense is the person's second or subsequent offense

• Fleeing or attempting to elude a police officer

• Obstruction of a law enforcement officer

• Criminal trespass, provided that such offense is the person's second or subsequent offense

• Theft by taking, provided that such offense is the person's second or subsequent offense

• Theft by deception

• Theft by extortion

• Destruction, removal, concealment, encumbrance, or transfer of property subject to security interest

• Bribery

• Purchase, possession, manufacture, distribution, or sale of controlled substances or marijuana

• Forgery

• Exploitation and intimidation of disabled adults, elder persons, and residents or obstruction of an investigation

• Battery

• Voluntary manslaughter

• Cruelty to animals

• Violation of oath by a public officer

• Financial transaction card fraud

• Financial transaction card theft

• Identity fraud

• Racketeering and conspiracy

• Trafficking of persons for labor or sexual servitude

• Failure to appear, provided that such offense is the person's second or subsequent offense

• Domestic terrorism

• Riot

• Inciting to riot

• Unlawful assembly

• Possession of tools for commission of a crime

Maya Homan is a 2024 election fellow at USA TODAY, focusing on Georgia politics. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, as @MayaHoman.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Criminal justice: Cash bail now mandated for 30 additional crimes