For Immediate Release: 15 August, 2023
Media Contact: Noble Frank, noble@mnfreedomfund.org, (952) 353-6930
MINNEAPOLIS — Why does MFF keep money in its accounts? Why not use every penny to free everyone right now?
Minnesota Freedom Fund received nearly $40 million following the death of George Floyd and since then we have spent:
$20 million paid for pre-trial bails since 2020.
$4.5 million paid for immigration bonds since 2020.
More than $6 million regranted to other Black and brown-led organizations between 2020 and 2023.
Why didn’t Minnesota Freedom Fund use all our $40 million to empty the jails in 2020? To empty the jail when we received the money in 2020 would’ve taken nearly every penny we had. And when the money was gone and the jail was empty, then what?
Without policy change, the jail would have been full again within months, and it would take years — the length of time it takes for a client’s case to work its way through the system — for cases to be resolved and bail money to be returned to us to use again.
We’re a revolving bail fund, which means we’re able to keep operating because bail money we pay is usually returned to us when a client makes all their court dates. When the money comes back to us, we can use it to free someone else.
By staggering bail payments — rather than paying $40 million at once — we’re able to have a steady stream of money returning to us, so as long as the cash bail system exists in Minnesota, we always have the capacity to pay for someone who needs it.
Even if we thought it would be strategically smart to spend $40 million at once on pre-trial bails and immigration bonds, it would be physically and logistically impossible! We can’t just go to the jail with suitcases full of cash and demand the release of everyone inside.
For each individual client we help, a staff member must withdraw the exact amount of cash, take the cash to the jail, and work with the jail staff to process the payment and make sure our client is released. The process for paying immigration bonds is even longer and more complicated.
Paying even a single bail or immigration bond takes time, and while we’ve been able to grow our team because of the money we received, we don’t have near the person power it would take to pay $40 million in bails in a year — much less in weeks or months.
We pay millions of dollars in bails every year and help to free hundreds of people being jailed before their trial, simply because they don’t have money. But we also work for policy change so that one day, Minnesota will no longer need a bail fund to address the racist, systemic injustice of cash bail.
If we use our money right, we can put ourselves out of business and make sure that the jail is emptied permanently — not just for the time being.
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