John Oliver Dismantles The U.S. Bail System

Once again, British comedian John Oliver sits us, the American people, down and schools us on our inadequate political systems. This week he focused in on the U.S. bail system and its inherent bias against the poor and disenfranchised (a recurring theme in our country ‘ perhaps something to explore?).

Not only are most bail systems designed to keep innocent or low-level offenders behind bars, those who are innocent often have no choice but to plead guilty just so they can return to their daily lives. On the other end of the wealth spectrum, John Oliver points out, are upstanding serial murderers like Robert Durst who can say ‘buh bye $250,000!,” pay their bail, and start planning out their next homicidal rampage. It ‘s not a system designed to promote justice, but rather profit (again, maybe a theme we all want to sit down and do a close reading of?)

Watch the video below for Oliver ‘s excellent dissection of the perverted system plus some excellent clips of amateur bounty hunter highlight reels, and a conclusion of what a more cost-effective and fair justice reality show could be about: pre-trial services.