COLUMBIA — In the days since protests broke out in a pair of major South Carolina cities following the May 25 death of George Floyd, police have made dozens of arrests, charging people with crimes ranging from curfew violations to arson and assault.
Whether in Columbia or Charleston, those taken to jail confront a function of the criminal justice system that one attorney says can be the difference between going home in a matter of hours or sitting in a cell for up to months at a time.
Bail.
“This can still affect people, even though it's a small-level charge with a small, relatively, amount of bond so it can have a different impact on people that are poor,” said Allie Menegakis, a Charleston-based criminal defense attorney.
That’s where people like Latisha Imara come in. Imara and a handful of other volunteers in Charleston launched the Black Liberation Fund, a grassroots initiative to raise bail money for those facing protest-related charges.
So far, the organization has been able to help 16 protesters, including one person with more serious charges and bail set over $277,700.
Imara didn’t disclose how much money the fund has raised, but said donations have poured in from across the country and even globally.
“This country cannot incarcerate its way into safety,” Imara said. “We want to help communities thrive.”
While not a new concept — bail funds have existed for as long as governments have locked people up — their popularity since the wave of street demonstrations worldwide have exploded.
“What we’re seeing in the last two weeks is unprecedented in terms of national attention and donation amounts,” said Jocelyn Simonson, a professor at Brooklyn Law School and leading scholar on bail funds.
At least 98 protest-related bail funds have been created since June 1 across the country, according to the National Bail Fund Network.
“This is a very unique moment, in that there’s a lot of connections being made. Policing and arrests lead to people being incarcerated, so a bunch of the bail funds that already existed are now being connected to paying the pail of people protesting that system,” said Pilar Weiss, director of the Community Justice Exchange that oversees the network.
Imara’s is one of several such entities in South Carolina.
An arrest is made along St. Philip St. during a protest on Sunday, May 31, 2020, in Charleston. File/Andrew J. Whitaker/Staff
Columbia-based Soda City Bail also has an active presence, but organizers told The Post and Courier they were “consolidating operations and policies,” and declined to offer specifics on how much they’ve raised or how many people have been aided.
Menegakis, who in January founded South Carolina for Criminal Justice Reform, said extended pre-trial detentions due to an inability to make bail can have damaging consequences.
Another problem, she said, is people facing charges of a curfew violation or other municipal infraction don’t meet the state’s standard for free legal representation.
“Frankly, a lot of these people aren't a risk or violent to the community, but rather are exercising their First Amendment right and getting caught up in this political environment,” she said. “We need to have political uniformity, not have current events or implicit bias affect the bond that people are getting, and that is real movement.”
Not being able to make bail, however modest, leads to defendants taking guilty pleas just to close a case — building criminal records that could make it difficult to find employment or housing, Menegakis said.
Some of these funds blossom almost overnight. That’s what Katie Thompson discovered after setting up a GoFundMe bail fund account on June 6 in support of demonstrators. Within hours, thousands had already been donated, and as of Thursday, the Charleston resident was overseeing an account with more than $107,000 from 4,000 donors.
Thompson said the money is also being used to purchase water, snacks and personal protective equipment for those still protesting, but she’s already committed about $10,000 for bail. Thompson said she’s unaffiliated with Black Lives Matter or any other social activist organization.
“I think it was this successful because the protesters were out there sharing their stories, the world saw that and the world responded, thousands of people around the world believe in them,” Thompson said.
Menegakis discounts critics who might wonder why those accused of taking part in disruptive activities during a protest should have their bails covered — and have an attorney represent them at hearings.
“Just because a police officer arrests someone doesn't mean they're automatically guilty for what they were arrested for,” she said. “You are presumed innocent under the Constitution. Everyone is. So as such, that right needs to be protected.”
Imara hopes her group evolves into a larger nonprofit that can provide community resources for those disadvantaged by systemic issues.
Simonson said that’s long been the goal of people who contribute to bail funds.
“What’s not new is the on-the-ground organizing and every day getting together of people in communities that have led to bail funds being sustainable and powerful,” she said.
