Question 1: How much of the growth in US jail population comes from people who have not yet been convicted of a crime and are locked up while awaiting trial?
The correct answer is: 95%
Ninety-five percent of the growth in the overall U.S. jail inmate population since 2000 was due to the increase in the number of people being held before trial. In Washington, often these jailed persons are facing low-level misdemeanors. They are routinely held because bail is set at an amount they cannot afford to pay.
Learn more about Washington’s pre-trial bail system and why we should reform it. Download a free copy of our position paper, “No Money, No Freedom.”
