Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter, who has promoted criminal justice reform in prose and on screen, is putting his financial weight behind a start-up company that aims to use technology to reform bail and sentencing practices. 

TechCrunch reported yesterday (March 19) that Roc Nation, the MC’s management company, invested in a first round of fundraising for Promise. The company joined venture capital groups like Kapor Capital, 8VC and First Round Capital to raise a total of $3 million for the new company. An emailed statement today (March 20) announced the official launch of the software at the Y Combinator Demo Day, a showcase for new start-ups in Silicon Valley.

Promise offers an alternative to traditional models that incarcerate people for unpaid bail. The program works with people charged with crimes, offering an alternative to pre-trial incarceration.

[For more on this story by Sameer Rao, go to https://www.colorlines.com/art...minal-justice-system]