ABOUT THE BAIL FUND:

OUR MISSION

The Massachusetts Bail Fund (MBF) pays bail to secure freedom from pre-trial incarceration so that people can be free while fighting their case.

Pre-trial freedom allows individuals, families, and communities to stay productive, together, and more stable. Massachusetts jails are filled with people awaiting trial simply because they cannot afford bail and for many, cases that will get dismissed. In a study of bails MBF has paid since our inception, 48% of cases that have closed have been dismissed! 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.

WHO WE CENTER & SERVE

The vast majority of people we bail are being criminalized because they are charged with crimes that stem from surviving poverty and from being racially targeted. The bails we post represent those who are disproportionately affected by racial policing, crimmigration systems and austerity. This includes Black, Brown, immigrant, disabled and/or unhoused communities as well as people being criminalized for using drugs. The people we bail are who we center in our work. We work urgently as we can, with a small staff team and volunteers, to organize and protectively post bail for each individual after gathering specific information about what their needs are.

Our team also reflects the broader experiences of the communities we center and serve. Our staff comprises of people who have served long incarceration sentences in state prison, have been arrested for participating in protest for movements for justice, have currently and formerly incarcerated family members and are navigating family separation, are navigating crimmigration systems, have been through cash bail and pre-trial systems of control and/or have been targeted and criminalized as young people.

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 their return to court. This money is their bail. If they cannot afford it, they will be held in jail until trial or a subsequent event.

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 rehabilitation 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 2025.  

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. Furthermore, a recent report of racial disparities in pre-trial incarceration by Harvard Kennedy school confirms that cash bail reform has increased the number of people of color represented in jails. Applying cash bail furthers racism and classism.

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 and this impact lands doubly on racial groups who are disproportionately represented in jails. 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 prosecutors 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. According to Massachusetts Law, bail is meant to ensure that people return to court. However, studies show that court appointment reminders are as effective in returning people to court and doesn’t further racial and wealth bias. Additionally, the bail amount set by a judge does not always reflect the seriousness of a charge nor does it serve as a public safety mechanism. Low bail can be set on any number of charges, including felonies and if someone is able to pay it, they will be released.

Artwork by Sam