While the basic principle of law and equality states that everyone is ‘innocent until proven guilty’ our legal system indicates otherwise. People are being hauled to jail in dozens by the minute, and we shouldn’t even point out the elephant in the room that the vast majority is not composed of criminals.

Another fundamental principle of equality in legal terms states that everyone should be allowed to properly set up their case and defense, regardless of whether they are guilty or innocent. Obviously, being stuck behind bars severely limits this constitutionally protected right, and what’s more, Prop 25 exists solely to ensure that this becomes the new norm.

In many cases, the accused needs to collect various sorts of evidence to form their defense, to find witnesses who would support their case, and obviously to make financial preparations, hire a lawyer, consult with their loved ones, and so on. Prop 25 makes all of this virtually impossible.

In case you aren’t fully cognizant of what Prop 25 is, we’ll explain in short words. This is essentially a Californian proposition scheduled for the ballot year of 2020 that aims to minimize flight risk while enhancing public safety, or so the public is led to believe.

This proposition is geared towards replacing the money-bail system with an automated algorithm-based procedure. Some would argue that this is an intimidation tactic that is supposed to scare criminals into having a change of heart, whereas in actuality Prop 25 is simply another piece of fertile land where seeds of racism and bias can be freely planted.

Let us not forget, the money-bail system was supposed to benefit everyone – both the guilty and the innocent – while providing people with the option to adequately set up their legal defense. It is all too obvious that the Californian Proposition 25 benefits no one else but the bureaucrats.

In simpler words, Prop 25 wants to replace the judges with a computer program. Some may say that this would eradicate the issue of bribes we have in our courts, whereas it would only substitute it with bribing of the bureaucrats.

There are strong, obvious reasons why not everyone can be a judge, just like there are obvious reasons why Prop 25 needs to be stopped. Equal Justice Now is, backed by more than 100 CJ reform advocates, standing strong against this preposterous proposition.

The StopProp25 movement is fully underway, as we firmly believe that no American citizen should spend a second behind bars while preparing their defense. The severe restriction of movement imposed by this proposition is aimed towards the less fortunate, as well as those with slightly shallower pockets.

Every single legal instance in the court of law is expensive, even if you were never supposed to pay for a lawyer in the first place. If proven innocent, a person will invariably be defamed, stripped of future opportunities to find a job, deprived of their social status, and hit hard by the financial expenses from day one.

The US is a proud country that will not be coerced into a corner as long as its citizens stand united. The guilty are still human, just like the innocent people. Our jails and penitentiaries are at full capacity already, and overflowing them will by no means wash away the guilt of those responsible for corrupting our legal system.