CHARLOTTE, N.C. – It’s a cycle that can keep you behind bars without a conviction.

  • YWCA Central Carolinas and ACLU is seeking to change the state's cash bail system
  • A person arrested who can post their own bail gets that money back after a court appearance
  • Advocates say the system disproportionately affects minority communities

Some North Carolinians are kept in jail because they can't afford to pay for their freedom.

That’s why a forum this month with the YWCA Central Carolinas and ACLU is seeking to change the state's cash bail system. Right now, a person arrested who can post their own bail gets that money back after a court appearance. A low-income defendant might not be able to pay, and is locked up until the next court appearance.

"While I may not have been arrested, and I may not have had to post bail myself, it's important for me and others who may not have had that experience, to care about this issue, because our brothers and sisters around the community are having to deal with this issue,” YWCA Central Carolinas CEO Kirsten Sikkelee said.

Advocates say the system disproportionately affects minority communities, and that the bail bond system is for-profit and can leave defendants with lots of debt.

"It really isn't an indicator of guilt or innocence, it's an indicator of means or not having means," Sikkelee said. 

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