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Georgia Senate Bill 63 (SB63) is a comprehensive prison and bail reform bill that, among other things, will limit and restrict how organizations pay bail. Those restrictions might violate the Citizens United ruling where the U.S. Supreme Court determined that a corporation’s right to free speech includes money as a form of speech. The bill is backed entirely by Republicans and rated “partisan” by LegiScan. Liberal advocacy groups like the ACLU have already threatened to sue the Georgia if Republican Gov. Brian Kemp signs the bill into law.
Straight Arrow News contributor Adrienne Lawrence dives into the debate on GA SB63 and explains why this bill is so contentious and how harmful it might be for the people of Georgia.
This is the story across the state, mind you. People awaiting trial on minor offenses are stuck behind bars because they can’t afford the bill. And these people aren’t guilty, as they have been convicted of nothing. Many will ultimately be released or never even see the inside of a prison cell. But in between the time between the trial and them maybe being able to pay the bail, they’ll aggravate the crowding in county lockups. They’ll also lose out on the ability to earn a living and pay rent by returning to work, or the ability to support their family simply by being physically present, or the ability to improve their chances of beating the charges by helping build their defense. These poor defendants are the ones who will needlessly suffer.
Many bail practices are already unconstitutional to begin with. The system capitalizes on the fact that there are more victims of it than there are pro bono attorneys out there who can fight it, and that injustice is compounded by the restrictions that are outlined in Senate Bill 63.
If we must live with the notion that, under Citizens United, corporations should be able to spend as much as they want on politics as an exercise of free expression, I refuse to back away from the belief that corporations should have the same unlimited opportunity when it comes to spending on the freedom of people.
