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Its Jails Bursting, Philadelphia Seeks Bail System Changes [ABCnews.go.com]

 

More than 7,800 men and women sit in Philadelphia's overcrowded jails, three-quarters of them languishing while they await trial under a bail system that critics call outmoded and that cities — and the White House — are working to change.

Hundreds in the nation's fifth-largest city would be free, including nonviolent and first-time offenders, if there were alternatives to bail, a recent tally of the daily jail population showed. People accused of crimes here have historically faced some of the country's longest waits for their cases to be heard.

It's a national issue that is increasingly seen not just a moral imperative, but also as an economic one, with the costs a huge burden on municipal budgets. The Philadelphia jail system puts the cost of housing an inmate at $120 a day, or nearly a million dollars at the current jail population. For those awaiting trial, at an average of six months, the total cost would be more than $126 million.

To continue reading this article by AP reporter Errin Haines Whack, go to: http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireS...bail-system-35528234

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