"Sixty-one percent of inmates are in pre-trial detention; as they wait to see a judge, mothers who are unable to pay bail sit in jail for months. While they are gone, their children are alienated, they lose their jobs and some lose their housing. The courts should give mothers earlier court dates and waive bail fees for low-income, low-risk offenders. It is hard on kids when either parent goes to prison; but when moms go to jail, it changes their lives."

The Paris Post-Intelligencer

July 2, 2018