PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A local bail fund helped free dozens of people incarcerated inside of Philadelphia jails over the weekend, and is working to free as many people as possible during the pandemic.
The Philadelphia Community Bail Fund received an outpouting of support during the racial unrest following the death of George Floyd. In fact, they raised $2.5 million, according to lead organizer Candace McKinley.
"We spent most of that bailing people out, especially people with high bails who had serious medical conditions," she said.
Since March, the group has bailed out 329 people, according to McKinley, with bails up to $250,000.
"We’ve been particularly worried about the spread of COVID, and what it means for people in prison, especially people living right now in horrible conditions without access to adequate medical care or any way to socially distance or keep up basic hygiene," she explained.
McKinley said the mass bail out this weekend freed an additional 29 women and gender non-conforming individuals inside of Philadelphia prisons. The Philadelphia Department of Prisons has seen an uptick in COVID-19 infections, and is currently under a shelter in place order. As of Saturday, the prisons reported 184 coronavirus cases.