Bail reform helps countless people. Why don't we hear more of their stories?
Personal narratives can help the public understand the benefits of bail reform, but telling these success stories presents its own share of challenges.
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There are plenty of reasons why people who have been arrested might not want their community to know, said Jackie Gosdigian, senior policy counsel at Brooklyn Defenders. She routinely has clients who “haven’t told their partner, haven’t told their family, they’re extremely ashamed of even having been arrested.” Her clients’ number one concern, Gosdigian said, is getting fired if an employer finds out by reading a story.
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Many people may also not want to relive the “unbelievably traumatic process” of being arrested, handcuffed, and taken to central booking, and potentially waiting as long as 24 hours to be released, Gosdigian said. The trauma is so intense, she added, that when she meets clients who have been through it and are going to be released, she doesn’t push them to discuss the details of what happened to them.
View the full article from The Appeal here.
