Freedom Papers publishes original research and commentary on bail and pretrial detention to explore how money is used to broker freedom in the US criminal justice system.
The term “freedom papers” refers to documents African Americans were sometimes forced to carry in the antebellum era to defend their legal status. Free people of color could be enslaved if their freedom papers were misplaced, destroyed, dismissed, or disregarded.
The history of slavery is part of the history of incarceration. Places like Lumpkin’s Jail in Richmond, Virginia were used to store slaves awaiting sale. Solomon Northup of Saratoga New York—whose biography is the basis of Steve McQueen’s 2013 bio-pic, Twelve Years a Slave—was kidnapped and jailed before having his name changed and being sold into slavery in Louisiana.
Today, the link between money and freedom is different, yet still distressing. Across the United States, there are thousands of innocent people in jail simply because they cannot afford the cost of bail. Statistically, African Americans and other racial minorities, as well as people with very little money, are more likely to have a judge assign a bail amount they cannot afford.
Through original research and interviews, Freedom Papers uses bail and pretrial detention to explore the cost of freedom in the twenty-first century United States.