Lancaster Bail Fund

Our 63rd bail paid was for a 63 yr old male. In a few hours he will be free 💸

63 is happening today the Lancaster Bail Fund got

On Monday we posted our 60th bail
Today we posted 61 & 62

Lancaster city barbershop and Latino-owned businesses partner to offer free haircuts to the homeless Making people look good and feel good is what Gabriel Pinales has in mind as he organizes a free haircut event for people in his neighborhood.

You’ve reached the Lancaster Bail Fund how may we help you 🖤🤑 Jessica Mysteria

Today we’re dropping 10k on a Bond 🤑

Yesterday Lancaster Bail Fund spent the day tabling at 16th Annual Lancaster Pride Festival .

The Love Solidarity & Pride that graced the streets is unmatchable. It truly was a Beautiful day in the neighborhood to get out and meet our Fabulous Neighbors!!! ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🤎🤍

WE ARE LIFE!!!!
WE ARE LOVE!!!!
WE ARE PROUD!!!!
WE ARE STRONG!!!!
WE ARE HUMAN!!!!
WE ARE ONE!!!!
WE ARE LANCASTER!!!!

"It takes no compromise to give people their rights… it takes no money to respect the individual. It takes no political deal to give people freedom. It takes no survey to remove repression." — Harvey Milk 🏳️‍🌈

We did it again y’all ANOTHER BAIL POSTED.
ANOTHER PERSON FREE!!!!
🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

Another Bail Posted + Another Person Freed 🌹

https://lancasteronline.com/opinion/editorials/does-lancaster-countys-new-prison-need-to-be-huge-officials-should-seek-more-input-to/article_f362ad02-1247-11ef-87f7-d38cb5377ae0.html

Please check out this Editorial and get involved in the changes happening right here right now in Lancaster!!!!! It's time to Reimagine Justice Lancaster!!!!!!!

Does Lancaster County's new prison need to be huge? Officials should seek more input to get it right. [editorial] THE ISSUE

Its time we Reimagine exactly what Justice looks like in Lancaster! Please, Read, Share, Support and Get Involved!!!

Group calls for creating a county-community 'working group' to study ways to lower prison population - One United Lancaster Advocates say a new analysis calls into question the case for 1,000 to 1,200 beds in Lancaster County's planned correctional facility.

Did you know?
The United States is one of the only countries in the world with a cash bail system dominated by for-profit bail bondsmen.

If you're not sure how cash bail in the United States works, here's a quick explainer ⬇️

Just some food for thought.
Remember prisoners are Human too ❤️‍🩹

Excessive Bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel & unusual punishments inflicted.
8th Amendment U.S Constitution

1/30 UPDATE — Vote is Pushed Back — The vote on the draft program report for the new jail project has been removed from the 1/31 Commissioners’ Meeting Agenda. At the 1/30 Work Session, the Commissioners spoke openly for the first time about size. All three endorsed building a new jail with FEWER beds than our current facility!! We will continue to follow and share all developments!!!

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NEW JAIL UPDATE: Next week, County Commissioners will vote to approve the draft program report for the new jail project. What does that mean? We’re honestly not sure. They’ve said it’s not a decision on the size and budget for this project. To learn what is actually happening, attend or tune in to the meetings. See the links in our bio and stay tuned for more.

🏰🥀

Tabling along side and other awesome community orgs at the pardon clinic in downtown Lancaster today, made possible by , felt a little like church.

Want to come out to Wednesday’s listening session but wish you knew more about the new jail project? We got you. Swipe for some primers!

🗣️

See you Wednesday Lancaster!!

New year, same Lancaster-builds-a-bigger-jail situation.

Speaking of, what are you doing Wednesday night? On Wednesday at 6:30 in rooms 102/104 of the government center, 150 N Queen Street, the new jail’s Advisory Committee is hosting its fourth listening session where members of the public can receive updates and comment to county officials.

What’s changed since the last session? Design has begun. Last month, the design firm presented a 136-page report calling for a jail with 1,212 beds, a 12% increase in capacity from the number of beds in LCP. For reference, an average of 780 people were incarcerated at the Lancaster County Prison every day in November 2023, with only 254 people serving sentences.

Although the county hasn’t officially committed to the size or expense of this new jail, this is the first time a bed count has been referenced in any of their materials. And we were right — their hearts are set on a jail that can fit more of us in it.

Like we said before the last listening session, the “needs assessment” report contracted by the county doesn’t justify building bigger. Quite the opposite, the needs assessment highlights how our jail population could be much lower. Jail sizes are a function of policies and practices, not crime rates or overall resident population. But even if we changed nothing about the way Lancaster does “justice”, our crime rates have been falling as our overall resident population rises, and the report indicates that neither will “put pressure on . . . the local prison population”… so why are we building bigger?

If you can’t come up, please consider emailing the new jail project’s committee at [email protected] … bonus points for emailing AND attending!

2023 in review: Thank you Lancaster for making this possible…see you next year!!

New milestone!!! 🎉

Since we started in 2021, we’ve posted bail for 50 people, preventing an estimated 648 days of unnecessary jail time. The average amount of bail per case we’ve posted?

$2,632.

While most people would not be able to afford an unexpected expense of $2,500, this is a low bail amount compared to the county average of $56k. High or low, any amount of cash bail can keep an accused person behind bars indefinitely. The lowest bail we’ve posted was $100.

More quick stats: Of the 50 people we posted for, 32 have resolved their cases. 9 of the 32 were never convicted of anything (that’s right — that’s nearly 1 in 3). Of the remaining 23 people, only one was sentenced to jail. The rest were given sentences of probation or time-served. So what were they doing in our jail to begin with?

As we reflect on this year and plan ahead to the next, we want to thank you for following and supporting us. It’s cheesy but true—you make our work possible and your desire to make Lancaster a better place gives us hope.

Please keep your eyes peeled for upcoming opportunities and ways to get involved as we advance the wild concept that it is unjust to jail the innocent and advocate for positive changes in our local criminal system and against the county’s plans to build a bigger jail with our tax dollars. The next listening session is January 10. We don’t need a bigger jail. We need justice.

In our society, time is money. And when we throw our neighbors in jail, they lose both. This harms the incarcerated person, their family, and our community.

Since posting our first bails in the summer of 2021, we’ve prevented 618 days of unnecessary incarceration (calculated using the person’s next court date). By posting people’s bail for free, we’re saving time AND money. We’ve also saved jobs, housing and services. Your donations make this possible.

To continue to support our work, please consider giving extra today. As little as $10 donated at the link in our bio before midnight today (11/17) helps raise our individual donor count for the which will get us a bigger piece of stretch pool at the end of the day.

Artwork by

Have you been meaning to get your hands on SFJ Vol. 5 featuring a single, spoken word by Dr. Amanda Kemp, a poem by the prolific one, and artwork by ? We’ve got you!

The first 50 people to donate any amount to Lancaster Bail Fund during this year’s will receive a free copy!

Be and at the link in our bio any time between midnight and 11:59 pm on Friday November 17.

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Songs For Justice is a convergence of music, spoken word, visual art, poetry, history as well as discussion questions into a series of vinyl 45 records that include inspiring and educational information and resources to stimulate dialogue and, ultimately, healing and change. We are grateful to for highlighting our work in SFJ Vol. 5!

JOIN US this Wednesday, Oct. 11 for the third “listening session” on the new jail project starting at 6:30 p.m. at the Lancaster County Government Center, 150 N. Queen St.

The project’s “Advisory Committee” hosted two prior listening sessions where members of the public could address county officials about their plans. Comments were limited to 3 minutes and officials didn’t respond to questions.

What makes this listening session important? As LNP staff writer Tom Lisi reported Sept. 26, the county recently chose a design firm and a design is expected to be completed within the next four months. The design will drive the project’s cost—which could easily exceed a quarter-billion dollars—making it by far the largest capital project ever undertaken by Lancaster County.

Because the design firm will receive 3.5% of the final cost of our new jail, they have a financial incentive to build bigger.

But the county’s own “needs assessment report” doesn’t justify building bigger. Quite the opposite, the report highlights how our jail population could be much lower. Jail sizes are a function of policies and practices. We can choose to build a more just future, not a bigger jail!

Please spread the word and join us Wednesday! The will of the people is a source of power in a democratic society.

We love milestones.

Thanks to you, we’re happy to share that we’ve posted over $100k in bail!! We’ve been at it for a little over TWO YEARS and have helped free over 40 people, preventing more than a year behind bars.

We may have been quiet this summer. But it’s only because we’ve been busy putting your dollars to use 💪😎

❤️🌹Thank you Lancaster 🌹❤️

TOMORROW is the Music For Everyone Songs for Justice Community Discussion Zoom. Don't miss this opportunity to hear from the artists on Volume 5 and community leaders involved in criminal justice reform in Lancaster County.

Link to register 👉

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Songs For Justice Vol.5 Community Discussion: Criminal Justice Reform. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar. MFE is proud to present Volume 5 of our Songs for Justice series. Volume 5 focuses on issues surrounding criminal justice reform as it relates to equity and equality in our society. This latest release, the fifth in the ongoing SFJ series, is a deep dive into the historical context of the need for c...

Today we honor the past, celebrate the progress, and continue to work on freedom for all.

You know we'll be blabbering on about how we want to and whatnot. But Thursday's Community Discussion features other incredible activists,too.

Register now to hear from Michael Jamanis, Hobie Crystle, Dr. Amanda Kemp, and our own Michelle Batt.

Link to register 👉 https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_vOfHG3s5Rfq3iI3NtV6QOg

Volume 5, Songs for Justice, has musical talent oozing out of its album cover. Seriously, our box of albums is heavy with juicy, incredible music we know you'll be listening to all summer.

Hear directly from the artists involved in Volume 5 next week.
Music For Everyone

Register here 👉 https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_vOfHG3s5Rfq3iI3NtV6QOg

An activist is a person who uses or supports strong actions (such as public protests) in support of or opposition to one side of a controversial issue.

Music, poetry, and art are all forms of activism.

The artists who collaborated on Volume 5 of Songs for Justice are activists, musicians, poets, and more. They've lent their talents and passion to bring criminal justice reform to the ears of those who are willing to listen.

We're grateful to be a part of this year's Songs and hope you will join us for a live Community Discussion on Zoom next Thursday, June 22 at 12 pm.

Your community is calling you to action. Will you listen?

Lancaster Bail Fund is honored to be a part of this year's Songs for Justice by Music For Everyone.

Join our Founder, Michelle Batt, alongside talented musicians and other local justice reform leaders for the Songs for Justice Community Discussion via Zoom. It's free to participate – June 22 from noon to 1 pm.

Link to participate 👉

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Songs For Justice Vol.5 Community Discussion: Criminal Justice Reform. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar. MFE is proud to present Volume 5 of our Songs for Justice series. Volume 5 focuses on issues surrounding criminal justice reform as it relates to equity and equality in our society. This latest release, the fifth in the ongoing SFJ series, is a deep dive into the historical context of the need for c...