HARTFORD — More than 500 people are behind bars in Connecticut on bonds of $20,000 or less.
That means they don’t have the money to contract with bondsmen, who typically charge 10 percent of a bond to secure someone’s release from jail.
Mike Lawlor, chief of criminal justice policy for Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s administration, says the state is working to fix the problem, and recently received a $150,000 MacArthur Foundation grant to come up with a plan by December to reform the state’s jail system. Connecticut is in the running to be one of 10 jurisdictions to receive up to $4 million in grant money to implement their plans.
Bail reform advocates are pushing for a system in Connecticut that would replace most cash bonds with curfews, travel restrictions or electronic monitoring.
