John Oliver’s new target: The bail bond industry and bounty hunters

John Oliver criticized the role bail plays in the U.S. justice system Sunday on “Last Week Tonight,” explaining how it disproportionately hurts the poor.

“Jail can do for your actual life what being in a marching band can do for your social life,” he joked. “Even if you’re just in for a little while, it can destroy you.”

In some situations, people admit guilt just to stay out of jail, Oliver said, and television shows about bounty hunters have normalized “people with guns [who] hunt humans for sport.”

One bright spot Oliver mentioned, though, was bail reform laws in Washington, D.C., for defendants who cannot afford the payment. It might not make for entertaining television, but it does keep people out of jail awaiting trial.

Via – http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2015/06/08/john-oliver-on-bail-bonds-and-bounty-hunters/