Marcella Dake spent a combined seven months in jail before the Bail Project paid to have her released and the possession and assault charges she was facing ultimately dropped.    

"It made me feel not so good about myself. You know, you're not doing anything. It just felt like I was a bad person because I was in jail," said Dake. "Are you innocent until proven guilty? Because they treat you like a prisoner, you know, and they shouldn't."

Dake’s story is a common one — spending weeks, months or years in jail waiting on a court date because you can’t afford to bail yourself out.  

But over the last several years, bail reform has picked up steam across the country.  

Some courts in New York, Washington D.C. and Illinois have all experimented with reforms — sometimes controversial — that have allowed more defendants to go free while awaiting trial. The reforms have been fiercely debated with opponents claiming they increase crime.   

"Bail reform has to be changed, it’s ridiculous," said Patrick Lynch, the president of the Police Benevolent Association. 

And advocates say it finally takes an unjust burden off the poor and helps prevent pushing people into a tailspin of lost jobs and broken families.

"All Illinoisans will live in a safer more just state with this law on the books," said Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker.

Here in Houston, a federal lawsuit forced Harris County, the largest county in Texas, to take on misdemeanor bail reform in 2017. 

And while the reform was and still is controversial, a new study claims the reforms not only reduced pre-trial jail time for defendants but also increased public safety.   

Paul Heaton from the University of Pennsylvania was the lead author on the study. Heaton focused on those newly released individuals. 

"In no cases, is there any evidence that crime goes up," said Heaton. 

SEE MORE: Amended Autopsy: Black Man Died Due To Sedative, Restraint

A federal judge required county judges to release any individuals charged with misdemeanors who would ordinarily qualify for bail.  

"So what would you expect to see in the data, if it were true that releasing people leads to more crime. We should see higher future contact, right? More charges, you know, more felonies being filed against those folks. And, you know, when you look at the data, it's pretty clear that's just that's not true. That doesn't happen at all," he said. 

In the first six months following this change, there were 1,500 more people released under the reforms. Following them for three years, Heaton found a 6% decrease in prosecutions that would be expected based on historical trends. Not only that, but things like guilty pleas and time served also dropped.  

Doug Griffith is the president of the Houston Police Union and he’s been an outspoken opponent of bail reform.  

"We completely agree with the fact that you shouldn't be in jail just because you're poor, on misdemeanor charges. Now felony charges are a different animal," said Griffith. 

Griffith points to the substantial rise in homicides in Houston and across the country over the past two years.  

Houston’s homicide rate jumped by 42% and 17% in 2020 and 2021, respectively. Nationwide, the FBI reported a 30% rise in homicides in 2020.  

"As the bond reform for the misdemeanors went about it kind of transitioned and got sucked into the felony bond system, which was not the intent. It's been a disastrous program that's been shoved into Harris County that has cost lives," he said.  

Griffith claims judges in Harris County have been too lenient on repeat offenders, particularly those charged with violent felonies.    

SEE MORE: Curbing People With Mental Illness Away From Jail

"Misdemeanor bail has worked. Now, if you want to ask, has some judge made a mistake? Have they had a chance to push the reset button? Would they do something different? I'm sure that is the case," said Harris County commissioner Rodney Ellis.

Ellis was one of the first public officials in the county to throw his support behind bail reform.  

And while the reform he supported specifically targeted misdemeanor offenders, he says some of the same principles apply for felony cases.  

"If you believe in equal protection under the law, if you and I have the same profile, whether we are accused of a misdemeanor, or felony, the same standards apply to both of us," said Ellis. 

He said the rise in homicides in Houston has nothing to do with bail.  

"I think the big issue is a proliferation of easy access to guns. We spend more time banning books in schools than banning guns, but it's easier to go for the sound bite and blame everything on bail," said Ellis. 

For Marcella Dake, who lost her job and seven months of her freedom because she couldn’t afford bail, she’s still putting the pieces back together. 

"It took my time away. You know, for me pursuing to do better for myself. It took put a stop on my life, you know that hold on all my life," said Dake. 

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COLUMBUS, Ohio — Issue 1 on Ohio's 2022 general election ballot will allow voters to determine if judges should be required to consider public safety when setting bail amounts.

The proposal would amend the Constitution and require Ohio courts, when setting bail, to consider public safety, the person's criminal record, the likelihood the accused will return to court and any other factor the Ohio General Assembly decides.

In January, a majority on the Ohio Supreme Court sided with current state law, prohibiting a court from setting excessive bail. Bail is considered unconstitutional when the amount is much higher than necessary to make sure the accused person will return for their court date.

"There are judges who say that after this ruling that their hands are tied and they can't consider public safety," Mike Weinman with the Fraternal Order of Police of Ohio said. "So what this does is let them know that, yes, you can."

Weinman said the proposed amendment will keep dangerous criminals off the street, but Niki Clum with the Office of the Ohio Public Defender argued that isn’t true.

"Issue 1 allows courts to set ridiculously high cash bail amounts and hopes that defendants can't pay it," she said. "It actually makes us less safe because what actually makes Ohioans more safe is individual determination."

Individual determination is when courts look at a specific case and have the court set conditions of bail that are relevant to that person, she said.

"In some times, the court will actually need to have what's called a pretrial detention hearing because some people are dangerous and they should be in jail pretrial," Clum added.

Issue 1 stops that individualized determination and just substitutes money instead, she said.

State law already allows judges to consider public safety when setting bail. What this amendment would really do is strip restrictions on excessive bail, which Clum said could lead to a two-tiered justice system.

"There is justice and there is liberty for wealthy people, but there's not for Ohioans who do not have as much money," she added.

She and other opponents like the ACLU and Policy Matters Ohio believe this promotes the theory “guilty until proven wealthy.” Conservative think-tank the Buckeye Institute also shared the same concerns back when they testified against Issue 1 when it was still a joint resolution in the House.

Weinman and supporters like the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association and bail bondsmen say repeat offenders who have already shown to be a threat don’t deserve to be out terrorizing victims.

"Unfortunately, a lot of those times [criminals] do go back because they want to intimidate the complainant, the person that they've abused and tried to stop them from going forward and drop the charges and things like that," he said.

Domestic abuse cases are stressful for police because while they are filling out the paperwork, the alleged abuser goes back to the home before they are finished writing.

"They need to be held accountable," Weinman said. "Do you want someone who was just shot and killed, the man walking down the street in your neighborhood?"

Domestic abusers are a problem, but having excessive bail isn't the answer, Clum said.

"You have a domestic violence case where the person is a doctor or a lawyer — they have a lot of means, but they are dangerous to their spouse that they have abused," she said. "But they just pay their cash bail because this individualized determination was never made. The court set a cash bail that they hope they couldn't pay, but oops, they can."

RELATED: Ohio lawmakers argue over conflicting bail legislation

Other concerns

The second part of Issue 1 would remove the requirement that the procedures for establishing the amount and conditions of bail be determined by the Ohio Supreme Court. This takes away power from the highest court to regulate over lower courts, Clum said.

The most worrying part about that is the Legislature would get to take over those restrictions, she added.

"The [lawmakers] aren't experts in bail procedures," she said. "But this constitutional amendment would take the power away from the people that are the experts and give it to the Ohio Legislature."

If that was to happen, Ohio wouldn't have the current procedures in place, and since the lawmakers tend to move slowly on issues, it's possible nothing gets done during lame duck.

Weinman thinks it won't be an issue.

"The language is vague, I'll admit, but it does give the General Assembly some flexibility to intercede if they are confronted with a large group of activist judges who are acting on their own and not in the spirit of the law and what the people of the state of Ohio want," he said.

By voting yes on the proposal, Weinman said you will support allowing judges to set higher bail and give more autonomy to lower courts and the General Assembly.

By voting no on it, Clum said you will oppose unconstitutional bail and support the current system.

To learn more about a bipartisan bill that tackles wealth-based detention and would allow a court to make pretrial decisions due to dangerousness, not wealth — strengthening the current law — click here.

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CINCINNATI — On Wednesday, Hamilton County prosecutor Joe Deters criticized a judge over her handling of a case involving an ex-convict accused of shooting two people while out on bond.

"Ultimately, one person is responsible for setting that bond and that's the judge," Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters said. "They should own it, ok."

Deters' frustration is clear on Facebook, where every week his office calls out judges over bonds given to people with gun charges and violent pasts.

However, few rile up prosecutors like the case against Donique Philpot.

Court records show past convictions for cocaine trafficking and domestic violence, which make it illegal for him to carry a gun.

Last November, police claimed they found Philpot in a car with a loaded Highpoint 9mm handgun under the driver's seat, according to court documents.

A grand jury indicted him on three gun charges; bail disruptors from the Bail Project got Philpot out of jail for $1,500.

Ten days later, Cincinnati Police accused him of punching a woman, a misdemeanor assault, according to court records.

The Bail Project said, despite this, Philpot qualified for their services.

"We bailed him out on the firearm (charge), which a lot of men, not just black men, brown men, poor men carry those things for safety," Shameka Parrish-Wright, operations manager for the Bail Project said. "But that isn't, if it's not being used at that time that's not considered violent."

She also said Philpot had a verified address and support system that helped him make court appearances. For Parrish-Wright, their work with clients in jail pre-trial is personal. At age 18, she pulled a weapon on her then-boyfriend in self-defense.

She spent 38 days in Hamilton County's jail on a $10,000 bond she could not afford.

"Public safety is our concern too," she said. "The crime rate isn't going up because people are getting out of jail pre-trial. There's other factors that lead to that."

The Bail Project claims 94% of clients show up for court. Of their 123 clients in Cincinnati, 49% had cases dismissed, the group said.

They only take referrals, mostly from public defenders, and vet each person they help through interviews to verify each has the support needed to obey bond conditions.

"We don't want any of our clients to come out and re-offend or anything like that but we're not above the law and we're not coming in before the bail settings happen," Parrish-Wright said. "A judge has ample, has all the information even more than we would ever have access to and if they've made that decision and we're coming in at this juncture we have to deal with the person that's in front of us."

Less than one month after Judge Alison Hatheway took the bench in March, she signed a warrant for Philpot's arrest on bond violations, court records show.

Probation officers claimed Philpot let batteries on his electronic monitoring device (EMU) die almost daily, according to records.

However, court documents show that no one took Philpot into custody during the next five court hearings. In July, Cincinnati Police claimed Philpot shot two people in Over-the-Rhine.

An indictment followed along with a way out. Judge Hatheway ordered a $15,000 bond with "money previously posted" to be credited toward that bond, according to court records.

The judge also ordered Philpot's EMU be set to open hours. Judge Hatheway did not return a call and message for comment, though, her clerk said the judge is "unable to comment on specific cases."

"We have cases where people won't show up three dozen times," Deters said. "Nothing happens to them. They violate EMU. Nothing happens to them."

Bill Gallagher, a criminal defense attorney who was part of Cincinnati's bail reform working committee, said no one wants that to happen, but that high bail isn't the answer either.

"It's been made very clear from our Ohio Supreme Court that detention on high bail is basically a ransom and is unconstitutional," he said. "Judges are compelled to follow the law."

Gallagher said prosecutors have the option to appeal all bond decisions or file for "no bond," which is why he believes Deters' complaints are political.

"Someone is going to file a complaint against me for telling the truth and the truth is this: we have judges in this county, not all of them, but some judges in this county who are releasing violent criminals on gun charges and these people with these gun charges that they're releasing are killing people," Deters said.