Op-Ed By David Montes and Maddisson Alexander | Special to The Seattle Times
Two fundamental underpinnings of our nation’s legal system are that everyone is innocent until proven guilty and has the right to be treated equally under the law. Discriminatory cash bail systems contradict these two tenets, forcing people, most of whom have not been convicted of a crime, to wait in jail because they cannot afford to buy their freedom.
Washington now has an opportunity to change this.
Public defenders have proposed changes to the court rules that govern the use of bail. These changes are now under consideration by the Washington State Supreme Court.