Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Bail (HBO)

[theme music]

Oliver: Bail.

We're so used to it,

it has become a fixture of American life.

Sorrentino: Down here at the shore,

one minute you've got three girls
in the jacuzzi,

the next minute somebody's in jail

and you have to bail them out.

That's what happens down at the shore.

[audience laughs]

Oliver: The other thing that happens

down at the shore?

Chlamydia.

Just a medically astounding rate of chlamydia.

At it's heart,

America's bail system sounds pretty simple.

If you're charged with a crime,

the court might ask for

an amount of money as bond,

and then return it to you

once you show up for trial.

And if you have that money,

it's no big deal.

But if you don't,

you could be in big trouble.

Just look at one example,

a man called Miguel.

He was arrested

for driving with a suspended license.

The court set bail at $1,000,

and he had the choice

pay it or await a trial in Riker's Island.

And I'll let Miguel and his wife

take the story from there.

Miguel: I wouldn't wish Riker's

on my worst enemy

because it's rough.

Wife: It's hard because...

I had to borrow--

I had to try to borrow money

from this person and this person

and this person to try to get him out.

He told the judge,

"I can't afford $1,000 bill."

So, he really didn't have a choice

but to plead guilty.

Oliver: Now, whether he was guilty or not,

the fact is a non-violent offender

spent time in Riker's

because he didn't have $1,000.

And this is a systemic problem.

Increasing the bail has become a way

to lock up the poor

regardless of guilt

because Miguel was a family man

who posed no danger to society whatsoever.

And he was stuck at Riker's,

whereas millionaire Robert Durst

who'd been accused of murder in Texas,

had a completely different experience

of the bail system.

Durst: I had been told by the detective,

"You've been charged with murder.

Bail has been set at $250,000."

Interviewer: But was your intention

when you put up the $250,000 to run away?

Durst: Oh, goodbye $250,000.

Goodbye, jail. I'm out!

Oliver: I'm out! [audience booing]

That of course,

is an excerpt from Robert Durst's

children's books: Goodbye, Jail.

[audience laughs and claps]

Goodbye, money.

Goodbye, bail.

I killed them all,

but goodbye jail.

Of course, of course.

The problem is

the frequency and cost of bail

has risen dramatically.

And it is disproportionately hurting the poor.

In fact, in 2013,

an analysis of New Jersey's jail population

found that nearly 40%

were being held solely because

they couldn't meet the terms of their bail,

which is crazy.

Jail is supposed to be for

dangerous criminals.

If 40% of the group

don't meet the basic criteria

to be there,

that should change your perception

of what that group is.

If 40% of the Girl Scouts

were grown men,

you'd feel weird about

buying cookies from them.

[audience laughs]

So, what happens if you can't make bail?

Well, much like a game of

F***, Marry, Kill with Crosby, Stills, and Nash,

there are a few terrible scenarios.

[audience laughs, applauds]

Option 1: You're sit in jail.

And again, if you're poor

as this defensive attorney explains

that has immediate consequences.

Saunders: Our clients work at jobs

where if you're absent, you're fired.

Our clients live in shelters

or in transitional housing.

Places where if you're not there for the night,

you're place is gone.

So, there's a lot of different ways

in which incarceration,

even for a short period of time,

can really destroy someone's life.

Oliver: Exactly.

Jail can do for your actual life,

what being in a marching band

can do for your social life.

[audience laughs]

Even if you're in just for a little while,

it can destroy you [laughter, applause].

Destroy you [applause].

That means it's no wonder

that many defendants who can't afford bail

favor option number 2,

simply pleading guilty even if you're not,

as a former public defender explains.

Feige: You sit in jail

because you can't afford to pay your way to freedom.

And you're often confronted with a deal

that goes like this:

"Plead guilty -- get out."

"Maintain your innocence and go to trial."

"Stay in."

Oliver: And poor people

are regularly choosing to admit guilt

just to get out of there,

which isn't good.

The only time that's appropriate

is in a Catholic confessional.

What do you mean is there anything else?

I don't know. I--I masturbated into a kiwi fruit.

[audience laughs] Just let me leave.

I have stuff to do [laughter and clapping].

And the problem is if you do plead guilty

to a crime you didn't commit,

that does have it's own downsides

because unfortunately on a job application

next to the question:

have you ever been convicted of a crime?

Check yes or no.

Most don't then leave full pages

of blank space to explain

the social and economic inequalities

inherent in the legal system [light laughter].

And that brings us to your final option:

commercial bail bondsmen.

You know, the people who make

amazing ads like these:

Woman: Grumpy's Bail Bonds

has busted out all over middle Tennessee!

Prisoner: I ain't goin' out like that.

I'm a corporate bail bonds

'cuz they got my back!

They got me out in no time

and I'm back on track.

Man 1 [high pitched]: Jesus Christ Bail Bonds!

May God release you in a payment plan

by calling me!

I'm Bishop Barry of Jesus Christ Bail Bonds!

410-292-3029.

If you're locked up and afraid --

Man 2: Bail out!

Man 1: Bail out!

Man 2: Bail out!

Man 1: Bail out!

Man 2: Bail out!

Man 1: Bail out!

[high pitched voice] Jesus Christ Bail Bonds!

[audience laughs, claps, oohs]

Oliver: Yes.

[mimics Man 1 with high pitched voice] Jesus Christ

Bail Bonds [audience cheers and applauds]!

Amazing. And I will say,

it is a little weird given that

Jesus, pretty memorably I think,

was not bailed out [audience laughs].

He did eventually escape custody,

but it was a real work around

of the system [laughter].

Now here's how that system works.

Bail bondsmen promise the court

to pay your bail

if you fail to show up for a trial.

In exchange, you pay them 10-15%

of the bail amount,

which they then keep

regardless of how your trial goes.

So, if your bail is $5,000

and you're found innocent,

then you've basically just paid

a $750 fee to a bondsmen

for doing absolutely nothing wrong.

And paying $750 for absolutely nothing

should be reserved to one thing

and one thing only --

six months gym memberships.

[audience laughs and applauds] That's it.

You're not going to use it, Gerald.

You're going to use the treadmill twice

and that's it.

This is learning to speak Korean

all over again, Gerald [laughs].

And if you don't show up for your trial,

bail bondsmen routinely hire

bounty hunters to track you down.

And they have a frightening amount

of power.

Narrator: In all but 4 states,

the companies are legally allowed

to take almost any measure necessary

to capture a client,

including crossing state lines

and breaking into homes.

It's a dangerous business

for everyone involved.

With few rules and little oversight.

Oliver: Well, they're not kidding.

In 18 states, anyone can become a bounty hunter

regardless of education, training,

or prior criminal history.

Becoming a bounty hunter

is basically a lot like

becoming a social media expert.

[audience laughs] All it takes is

one to get bad enough

and not caring about whether strangers

hate you or not [audience laughs].

But then the news that any idiot

can be a bounty hunter

shouldn't really be that surprising to you

if you've ever turned on A &E

and stumbled across this:

Dog the Bounty Hunter: I am law man

on a mission from God.

When I say, "Freeze!"

They know what I'm saying.

Man 1: How's it going, man?

Dog the Bounty Hunter: Freeze, ****!!

[overlapping yelling]

The only way this guy will get away from us

is if he kills himself right now

and jumps into a pool of sharks.

[audience laughs, oohs]

Oliver: Okay, okay, I hate to be a stickler

over chronology, Dog,

but how do you kill yourself

and then jump into a pool of sharks?

[laughing]

That's the point of attention to detail, Dog,

that makes me worry about you

operating as an unregulated vigilante.

Now that show was so popular,

it inspired pretty much every other bail business

to pitch themselves as a reality show.

Just click around online

and you will find sizzle reels

for a veritable smorgasbord of similar shows.

♪ Walking and talking

♪ He acted like a criminal

♪ Running through the woods

♪ Like a four legged animal

Joe Ray: The bottom line is:

while you're on bond,

we own your ass.

Tonya: Dear Idiot,

We're coming to get you.

Brian: Bounty huntin' is a natural high.

You gotta think like them, be like them,

and react quicker than them.

Put your hands up!

Narrator: You want tough?

You want action?

Meet Big Benny.

They call him Teddy Bear.

Denise.

The Huntress.

Oliver: It doesn't stop there.

There's also Richard, the screwdriver.

Richard L., the other Richard.

Allison, the Greco-Roman wrestler.

Caroline,

the one who took up archery

after watching The Hunger Games.

And don't forget Jennifer,

the arthritic alpaca in a bowler hat.

Actually, you know what,

I now regret making fun of that,

now that I'm seeing the cast,

I get the appeal.

I want to see those characters grow.

[laughing]

Clearly,

these shows are in a competitive marketplace,

and the problem is,

when people try to stick out,

ideas like this happen:

Man: So what do we do differently,

we don't just bounty hunt,

we bounty race.

Narrator: Each week,

two new teams of bounty hunters,

go head to head.

Welcome to the most dangerous

competition on television.

Bail Chasers.

Oliver: Okay, first of all,

first of all,

the most dangerous competition on televison,

is The Bachelorette.

Those women have loved,

and they have lost.

Love is a reward, but it's also a risk godammit. It's a risk!

She's putting herself on the line.

She's there for the right reasons.

She sees her husband in that room.

And second,

it says something about

how comfortable we all are

with how our bail system works,

that a TV show where people with guns

hunt humans for sport

seems legitimate because we just think,

"Well, they're just doing their actual job."

And when you give bounty hunters this kind of power

bad things happen.

Female Reporter: Veteran Gene Travis

says he was sitting with his wife on his Bethpage front porch,

next thing he knows his barn is being searched,

and Travis has a stun gun pointed at his back.

The intruders Mark Brummett and his wife Angela.

Bounty hunters who police say had the wrong home.

Female Reporter 2: Clay was shot by one of the bondsman.

He was then transported to Ermac where he died.

Male Reporter: Was a bounty hunter justified

in tazzing a midwest city homeowner last saturday?

Was another justified in shooting his dog?

Police say the videotape they took, says no.

Oliver: Yeah, the video says no.

Basic human decency says no.

Even a magic 8 ball, having seen that would say,

"Holy shit, I can't believe you're even asking me. NO!"

Look, our current bail system

makes no sense,

and it does a lot of harm.

And the frustrating thing is,

we've known this for a long time.

Just watch this TV news special,

from 1964.

Man: Yes, the jails are bursting at the seams.

A problem of great concern

to New York City Commissioner of Correction Anna Kross.

Anna: Remaining in jail because you can't get bail

is really being punished before you're even found guilty.

As far as I was concerned,

that was not just,

that was destroying our concept of justice..

Oliver: That's right.

This problem has been obvious,

since it was considered okay to wear a wastebasket on your head.

But look, here's the good news:

There is a better way,

and it's already in use in our federal courts,

and in Washington D.C.

Narrator: Judges in Washington

are allowed to set money bail

only if the defendant can afford it.

The results have been far fewer people

spending time behind bars.

Judge: We are the only city in America

where tonight, at our jail,

there is not a single man or woman

who is sitting because they don't have the money

to meet their money bond.

Oliver: And it's a testament,

it's a testament [applause] to the state of our Justice system.

that "that" qualifies as bragging.

That should be the norm.

He's like a bus driver showing up at school saying,

"23 kids picked up, 23 kids dropped off,

I pitched a perfect game."

Pre-trial services works like this:

after you're arrested,

specialists assess if you're dangerous,

or if you're a flight risk.

If a judge decides you're not,

you can go home,

and they may monitor you with things like

drug tests or ankle monitors.

They even call you to remind you of your court dates.

It's a system built on interviews,

pre-arranged appearances,

and trust.

Much like, Scientology marriages,

only in this case, much more effective.

And pre-trial service programs

have succeeded around the country

in places ranging from Oregon to Florida,

and it is a truly frightening state of affairs,

when Florida is a model for progressive change.

It shouldn't be

a judicial example for anything.

Did you know, by the way,

that under Florida law,

if you possess over 5 grams of meth,

you can marry it.

That's a fact.

That's a legal fact.

That's an actual photo that ran in a newspaper's

wedding section in Florida.

And yet--and yet, even counties in Florida

recognized our money-bailed system is broken.

And not only is pre-trial services better,

it's cheaper.

A recent assessment of one system

showed it costing only a 10th as much

as keeping someone locked up,

which makes sense because

calling someone to check in costs virtually nothing,

<This message brought to you by your mother.

Your mother, she brought you into this world,

and would like to hear your f****** voice

once in awhile.>

So, if pre-trial services are fairer, better, and cheaper,

why aren't we all using it?

Well maybe, because thanks to reality shows,

we think that this is what justice looks like:

Dog: We're going to hunt this scum down.

[overlapped yelling]

Oliver: Bad Dog!

So, maybe we just need a new kind of reality show

to get us used to the alternative.

[police sirens]

Narrator: You want tough?

You want action?

Meet Steve Karn.

He's one of the most respected

pre-trial service case workers in the U.S.

Steve: So, let's see.

Okay, it looks like you were ticketed with public urination.

No priors. Seems like a one-off sort of thing.

Can we count on you to be back here

in 6 weeks for your trial?

Man: Uh..of course.

Steve: Great, we're done here.

Steve: Uh, I mean no. This is a routine thing.

Statistically, he's virtually guaranteed to turn up.

We're done here.

We're done here.

Narrator: They call Steve "The Hand Grenade,"

and he works with a crack team of legal enforcers.

Meet Debra.

Debra: Oh hello, this is Debra from Pre-Trial Services,

I'm just calling to remind you

about your upcoming court date this Thursday.

Well, you're welcome.

Narrator: They call her "The Viper."

Debra: I feel like a cat, you know [makes cat noises]

Alright, back to work.

[♪ hard rock]

Narrator: And then there's Brett.

Brett: So all these are risk assessments.

This is all computerized,

but you know I keep a hard-copy,

just in case.

Narrator: That's why they call him "The Annihilator." [machine gun]

And finally, Gerald, the guy in charge of urine tests.

Gerald: Clear.

If there is something in there that's illegal,

I'm gonna sniff it out.

'Cause that's what I do.

I'm a piss sniffer.

We got one.

Narrator: They call him "The Nose."

Gerald: You're really going to make a TV show out of this?

Who's going to watch it?

Narrator: You will.

Because this fall,

we'll bringing you all the thrills and excitement

of pre-trial supervision,

as this elite team brings people to justice.

Steve: Well, we don't bring them to justice,

it's more like we make arrangements

for them to bring themselves to justice.

This show is full of high-stakes drama.

Debra: You better pray I don't get you for secret Santa this year.

Brett: You don't want to f*** with Debra.

Narrator: And inter-office romance.

Debra: Gerald is a bloodhound.

Gerald: Oh yeah, she wants me.

If it wasn't for all them cats,

I would hit that.

I would knock the bottom out of it.

Narrator: But most importantly,

♪ Filling out forms, and filing them in triplicate.

♪ We won't lock you up if your crime's not significant.

♪ If you get a ticket for public urination,

♪ we won't lock you up so you lose your occupation.

♪ We ain't kicking in doors, screaming dead or alive,

♪ this is an office job, we all go home at 5.

♪ The system works well so there's no need for nervousness,

♪ it's all in the game at Pre-Trial services.

♪ [hard rock]

Narrator: PreTrial Services.

Coming this fall to A&E.