Dallas Needs to Learn From Mississippi How to Treat Jail Inmates. Yes, Mississippi

If Dallas County officials are serious about reforming a cash bail system that leads to the unfair jailing of poor people, they need look no further than Biloxi, Mississippi.This small casino and beach community was hit with a "debtor's prison" lawsuit similar to the one that the American Civil Liberties Union filed this week against Dallas County.But Biloxi officials didn't fight it.Instead, a day after the ACLU filed its suit in October 2015, Biloxi's city attorney at the time, former mayor Gerald Blessey, reached out to the organization to get to the bottom of its concerns and to stave off a potentially costly legal fight."The next day I called the ACLU lead counsel and said let's handle this in a professional way," Blessey said. "We made it clear we didn't think we had a debtor's prison."Yet, the ACLU made it clear that Biloxi, like many cities and counties across America, had cultivated a criminal justice system that led to the arrest and jailing of poor people, often without legal representation or even a hearing. Those arrested were told they could avoid jail only if they paid the full amount of fees and court fines immediately and in cash.   Continue reading...