What Could Go Wrong If We Change Indiana's Right to Bail?

 Let's look at Australia.

Two in five prisoners in NSW jails haven’t been convicted of a crime

Experts say a decade of bail reforms has led to vulnerable people serving time they otherwise might not have for minor crimes, contributing to a cycle of poverty, homelessness and incarceration.

Two out of every five NSW prisoners have been refused bail and are awaiting trial, marking an eight-year high.

In national trends, the number of unsentenced people in custody has almost doubled to 16,000 in the past decade.

Major changes in NSW last year included a provision requiring judges to refuse bail if a person has entered a guilty plea or is convicted of a crime for which they “will” serve a prison sentence.

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La Trobe University senior lecturer in crime, justice and legal studies Emma Russell said low-level offenders were now being refused bail and likely sentenced with “time served”, instead of being charged and released.

“All these people ... are now getting sucked into the prison [system],” Russell said.

The state’s bail laws disproportionately affect Indigenous Australians, the homeless and women.

Can Indiana afford the same problems?

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