{"id":1246037,"date":"2026-03-06T20:46:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-07T01:46:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.washingtoninformer.com\/?p=1246037"},"modified":"2026-03-06T21:07:26","modified_gmt":"2026-03-07T02:07:26","slug":"bail-project-impact-detention-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.washingtoninformer.com\/bail-project-impact-detention-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"When $250 Keeps You in Jail: The Personal Story Behind a National Bail Showdown"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A former correctional officer had just finished work when police pulled over the car she was riding in. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was just a thoughtless night,\u201d Dasia said. \u201cI was under the influence and heavily triggered.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Officers ran her name. A warrant surfaced for driving under suspension and a missed court date she says she never knew about because the notice went to the wrong address.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSometimes the first impression is all you get with somebody, and they get stuck with that,\u201d she continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bail was $250.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She spent 12 days in jail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI kind of felt violated,\u201d she recalled, describing how two male correctional officers searched her and unzipped her hoodie despite her objections. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Angry and intoxicated, she flooded a toilet in her pod after being denied a phone call. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was like an out of body situation,\u201d she explained. \u201cI was so mad they wouldn\u2019t let me make a phone call. I could\u2019ve bonded out that night.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She could not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The jail was the same one where she had once worn a uniform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re a CO, you\u2019re honored,\u201d she said. \u201cYou\u2019re important. But being an inmate \u2013 you go from feeling righteous to feeling like a peasant.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inside, she tried to steady herself by steadying others.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI spoke life into the other inmates,\u201d Dasia said. \u201cWe\u2019d talk, and I\u2019d try to broaden people\u2019s perspective about what we were going through. It wasn\u2019t just for them \u2013 it was for me, too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She has lived with mental health challenges for years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat people don\u2019t know,\u201d she continued, \u201cis that without being under a substance, sometimes it feels like you are anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She accepts responsibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEven with mental health, you\u2019ve got to present yourself in a way people can honor.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBroken crayons still color.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She also said she challenged a correctional officer who was cursing at detainees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI got into it with one of the COs,\u201d she recalled. \u201cShe was calling inmates out their name, cussing at them. I had to remind her; that\u2019s not part of your job description. You don\u2019t get paid for that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the officer later told her she had \u201cwon,\u201d Dasia responded, \u201cno, I\u2019m behind this cage. I didn\u2019t win anything. I just need you to stop treating people like that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her release came after a counselor connected her with The Bail Project, <\/a>which provides free bail assistance to those in need and advocates for better policies in the pretrial justice system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen I got to talk to them, it was a breath of fresh air,\u201d she explained. \u201cShe told me she was working to get me out. And sure enough, I got released that day.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Across the United States, hundreds of thousands of legally innocent people sit in jail awaiting trial. In Oklahoma alone, more than 9,000 people sit in local jails on any given day, nearly 70 percent legally innocent and awaiting court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Fulton County, Georgia, 32 people have died in jail since 2021. Nearly 90% of those incarcerated are Black in a county where Black residents make up 43% of the population. More than one-third of detainees faced bonds under $5,000, amounts that still kept them jailed because they could not afford upfront payments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Texas, nearly 70% of people in jail on any given day are awaiting trial at a cost of more than $1.1 billion annually. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Bail Project\u2019s report \u201cBehind the Bill\u201d<\/a> details how lawmakers pushed constitutional changes that would have expanded pretrial detention before advocates secured protections requiring clear and convincing evidence before someone could be jailed pretrial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Florida, the Senate Rules Committee amended SB 600 to preserve nonprofit bail funds after language that would have blocked nonprofits from reusing refunded bail money threatened to shut them down. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCharitable bail funds and faith-based groups reuse refunded bail money to help people a judge has already cleared for release,\u201d said Josh Mitman, senior policy counsel at The Bail Project. \u201cShutting them down doesn\u2019t make communities safer \u2013 it just keeps more people in jail unnecessarily and sticks taxpayers with the bill.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Washington, Congress passed H.R. 5214<\/a>, legislation mandating expanded cash bail in the District. The Bail Project warned it would dismantle a system where 88% of people released pretrial remained arrest-free and 98% remained free from violent arrest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cH.R. 5214 is a dangerous federal intrusion that overrides Washington, D.C.\u2019s proven pretrial system and the democratic will of District residents,\u201d said Erin George, National Director of Policy at The Bail Project. \u201cDespite its claims, H.R. 5214 is not about public safety \u2013 it\u2019s about control \u2013 and will have devastating ripple effects on families, communities, and safety.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018A quiet constitutional crisis is unfolding in America\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The organization\u2019s national report \u201cDetention by Design\u201d<\/a> documents that more than a quarter of states with constitutional rights to bail have proposed or enacted amendments expanding detention eligibility between 2021 and 2025. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA quiet constitutional crisis is unfolding in America. State by state, the right to bail is being rewritten \u2013 expanding preventative detention, deepening reliance on money bail, and eroding the presumption of innocence,\u201d said David Gaspar, chief executive officer of The Bail Project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The organization\u2019s \u201cInside Bail Reform\u201d<\/a> outlines six core components of effective policy, including eliminating cash bail, strengthening due process, ensuring counsel at first appearance, timely hearings, voluntary supportive services, and court reminders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since its founding, The Bail Project reports that it has supported more than 40,000 people, including roughly 35,000 whose release it secured through bail assistance. With support such as reminders and transportation, 92% returned to court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dasia said freedom after jail was not simple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The case kept her from working for nearly a year. The stigma followed her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m a hard worker,\u201d she said. \u201cAll I\u2019ve ever known is to work. But God\u2019s been telling me this is a season to be still, to listen, to recenter.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She also explained The Bail Project continues to check on her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey\u2019ve helped me with resources and given me advice when I\u2019m in error. They challenge me to grow,\u201d Dasia said. \u201cThat\u2019s how you become the best version of yourself \u2013 by having people who really care.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She hopes one day to do similar work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf I could, I\u2019d do what they do,\u201d she said. \u201cIt takes patience and purpose. They\u2019re selfless. They help people restart.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Further, Dasia emphasized the biggest lesson she\u2019s received from The Bail Project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt helps me remember who I am,\u201d she said, \u201cand that it\u2019s never too late to start over.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Bail Project is a nonprofit organization that provides free bail assistance to those in need and advocates for better policies in the pretrial justice system, having supported over 40,000 people since its founding.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2327,"featured_media":89307,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"_primary_brand":0,"_newspack_byline_active":false,"_newspack_byline":"","nota_seo_page_title":"From officer to inmate: Dasia's jail ordeal","nota_seo_page_description":"Former correctional officer's story highlights the flaws in the pretrial justice system, as she faced challenges and stigma after being incarcerated.","newspack_featured_image_position":"small","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,45775],"tags":[17703,88942,88943,88945,125,77851,88944,1620,29735,322,62408],"brand":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"nota":[],"coauthors":[53509],"class_list":["post-1246037","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national-news","category-stacy-m-brown","tag-criminal-justice-system","tag-dasia","tag-david-gaspar","tag-erin-george","tag-florida","tag-fulton-county-georgia","tag-josh-mitman","tag-oklahoma","tag-stacy-m-brown","tag-texas","tag-the-bail-project","entry"],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\nFrom officer to inmate: Dasia's jail ordeal - The Washington Informer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Former correctional officer's story highlights the flaws in the pretrial justice system, as she faced challenges and stigma after being incarcerated.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtoninformer.com\/bail-project-impact-detention-crisis\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"When $250 Keeps You in Jail: The Personal Story Behind a National Bail Showdown\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Former correctional officer's story highlights the flaws in the pretrial justice system, as she faced challenges and stigma after being incarcerated.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.washingtoninformer.com\/bail-project-impact-detention-crisis\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Washington Informer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/WashingtonInformer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/StacyBrownMedia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-07T01:46:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-07T02:07:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.washingtoninformer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/prison.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"300\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Stacy M. 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