The Steep Road to Freedom

What has COVID-19 taught us about bail reform? What have we learned during this podcast? Where do we go from here? Episode 10, our final episode, looks back at some of our favorite moments from the series, and what we can do moving forward to achieve true justice with bail in Ohio. Guests interview clips, in order: • Daniel Cruz • Daniel Dew • Anton Parkes • Aquia Chambers, • Alana Garrett-Ferguson • Joseph Sharp • Veronica Dalberg • Dr. Steven DeMuth • Danyelle Moore • Cayla Burton • Dr. Zaria Davis • Cherisse Fano-Burdeen

This episode will explore what bail reform shouldn't look like. We will identify common policy pitfalls and look at jurisdictions where reform efforts went awry. Topics will include California's historic overhaul of the bail system and its potential demise, pretrial profiteering, and the expansion of pretrial detention where reform has been superficially implemented. Guests: Cherise Burdeen and Dr. Zaria Davis of the Pretrial Justice Institute (PJI) Sponsored by: Open Arms Toledo For more information, visit: Web: OHBailReform.com Twitter: @ACLUOhio Facebook: @ACLUOH Instagram: @ACLUOH

Episode 8 has a pronounced focus on youth. Topics discussed included the phenomenon of bind-over (youth housed in adult facilities), young people forced to raise bail for parents and guardians, and the "no bail" option for detained young people. Advisory: The topics discussed in this episode may be disturbing to some listeners. Guests: Cayla Burton, Juvenile Justice Coalition; Danyelle, mother of a child who has interacted with the juvenile legal system. Sponsored by: Ohio Organizing Collaborative For more information, visit: Web: OHBailReform.com Twitter: @ACLUOhio Facebook: @ACLUOH Instagram: @ACLUOH

Defining risk assessment tools are often heralded as the solution to the cash bail problem. How do risk scores perpetuate the criminalization of marginalize communities? Topics will include algorithmic bias, existing Ohio tools, and what constitutes "risk." Guest: Dr. Steve DeMuth, Bowling Green State University Sponsored by: The Bail Project For more information, visit: Web: OHBailReform.com Twitter: @ACLUOhio Facebook: @ACLUOH Instagram: @ACLUOH

A third of people in U.S. immigration detention are locked up in county and city jails. Immigration bond amounts are set by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE); while immigration judges have the ability to reevaluate bond amounts at hearings, many immigrants do not have access to legal counsel to advocate for an appropriate reduction. Immigration bond does not permit deposit amounts, requiring thousands of dollars of payment-in-full to release an individual. There is no limitation to the length of pretrial detention for immigrants. This episode will cover the entrapment of undocumented families and an overview of the Sandusky Ohio raids. Guest: Veronica Dahlberg, HOLA Sponsored by: Black Lives Matter Cleveland For more information, visit: Web: OHBailReform.com Twitter: @ACLUOhio Facebook: @ACLUOH Instagram: @ACLUOH

This episode features an in-depth interview with Cleveland based artist and activist Joe Sharp. The ACLU of Ohio commissioned Joe to create an original art piece for our bail reform campaign's mobilization nucleus--drawing audiences towards heart wrenching narratives of pretrial detention. Sharp quickly become an integral member of the campaign, traveling with the ACLU to speak in cities statewide, facilitating community conversations on the trauma of cash bail and the prison industrial complex. Joe has been featured as a special guest at the Cleveland ACLU100 celebration, community art panels, reentry events, and local radio stations. Joe began drawing and painting during 26 years behind bars in the Marion Correctional Institution, what he refers to as his time on the “plantation”. Growing up near one of the most heavily redlined areas of East Cleveland, poverty and mass incarceration were pervasive facets of his early life. Sponsored by: Towards Employment For more information, visit: Web: OHBailReform.com Twitter: @ACLUOhio Facebook: @ACLUOH Instagram: @ACLUOH

Intersectionality is a theoretical framework for understanding how race and gender combine to create a uniquely situated experience of oppression. Now more than ever, we must look boldly at the reality of race and gender bias in the criminal justice system. This episode will lift marginalized and intersectional identities often eclipsed in the conversation surrounding mass incarceration: LGBTQ youth, Black mothers, and Black people with disabilities. We speak to Alanna Garret-Ferguson, a Cleveland based organizer for New Voices for Reproductive Justice and Aquia, a black woman held pretrial. Sponsored By: Ohio Justice and Policy Center (OJPC) For more information, visit: Web: OHBailReform.com Twitter: @ACLUOhio Facebook: @ACLUOH Instagram: @ACLUOH

The entire world has been turned upside down by the COVID-19 pandemic. Stay at home orders have been set and social distancing is the new norm. But for Ohio's incarcerated population, social distancing is impossible. Ohio's correctional facilities are currently over 120% capacity and prime for the spread of disease. This special COVID-19 episode of the Steep Road to Freedom discusses the urgency of this pandemic for Ohio's incarcerated population and the civil liberties implications across the state. How can Governor DeWine appropriately respond to this moment? How do we minimize the spread of COVID-19 for those in the criminal legal system, and by extension, the broader Ohio community? What are the civil liberties implications of restricted movement? With guest interviews from ACLU of Ohio Policy Counsel Claire Chevrier, Chief Lobbyist Gary Daniels, and the Ohio Organizing Collaborative Criminal Justice Organizer Edwin Fuller. Sponsored By: Ohio Organizing Collaborative (OOC) For more information visit: https://www.acluohio.org/covid19 Sign the action alert: https://action.aclu.org/send-message/oh-tell-gov-dewine-covid19-plan-incarcerated-population Get connected with the ACLU of Ohio: Web: OHBailReform.com Twitter: @ACLUOhio Facebook: @ACLUOH Instagram: @ACLUOH

What is the relationship between pretrial detention and higher conviction rates? Why is the inability to pay cash bail one of the leading cause of overcrowded jails and prisons? Episode 3 explores the aftershocks of a guilty plea that follows pretrial detention. We talk to Sasha Naiman and Kevin Werner of the Ohio Justice and Policy Center to learn more about the collateral consequences- or civil penalties- attached to a felony conviction. Sponsored By: New Voices Cleveland For more information, visit: Web: OHBailReform.com Twitter: @ACLUOhio Facebook: @ACLUOH Instagram: @ACLUOH

Ohio's cash bail crisis can be challenging to grasp at first; it's an intricate web of public systems, federal and state law, and confusing legal jargon. This episode, we name the players, outlining the role of prosecutors, police, judges, and the commercial bail bond industry on the path to arrest to pretrial detention. We ask in-house policy counsel Claire Chevrier to describe the power and constraints of individual system stakeholders (Can judges fix cash bail? prosecutors? police?). We explore the budding conservative interest in bail reform with Daniel Dew, a legal fellow with the Buckeye Institute. Sponsored By: Juvenile Justice Coalition For more information, visit: Web: OHBailReform.com Twitter: @ACLUOhio Facebook: @ACLUOH Instagram: @ACLUOH

In this episode co-hosts Melekte Melaku and Celina Coming introduce the ACLU of Ohio and the Campaign for Smart Justice, demystify the mechanics of the pretrial system, and empower communities to take action for statewide bail reform. Sponsored By: Pretrial Justice Institute For more information, visit: Web: OHBailReform.com Twitter: @ACLUOhio Facebook: @ACLUOH Instagram: @ACLUOH

Stick with us as we demystify bail, bail reform and the crisis of mass incarceration. This is The Steep Road to Freedom.