A group of prison abolitionists in New York are asking the public to donate a small amount of computer processing power to mine a cryptocurrency called Monero to benefit a project that bails out prisoners stuck in pretrial detention because they cannot afford bail.
“Bail Bloc” is the brainchild of “The New Inquiry,” a New York-based, left-leaning, online magazine of “cultural and literary criticism” available by subscription. Money raised in the Bail Bloc network is transmitted to Bail Bloc’s partner, The Bronx Freedom Fund.
The NYT reported last December that the Bail Bloc network generated more than $3000 of Monero in its first month of operations.
According to Bail Bloc, “70% of people in American jails have not yet been convicted of any crime,” and many languish behind bars for months or even years waiting to be processed through a complex and backed up legal system.
According to the Bronx Freedom Fund, incarceration exacerbates poverty and social harms. “Even one night in jail can cause someone to lose their job, their housing, and even custody of their children.”
Disproportionate incarceration rates of members of historically disadvantaged groups are well-documented and seem to be reinforcing legacies of misfortune. A Canadian researcher found that boys from First Nations communities are five times more likely to be incarcerated in Ontario’s youth prisons than members of the general public. Black boys are four times more likely.
Desperate and impoverished people accused of crimes, writes Bail Bloc, are pleading guilty just to expedite release. “In New York, 90% of people who can’t pay bail end up pleading guilty. That means they… are never allowed to argue their case, and can never be found innocent.”
The Bronx Freedom Project says that people who await trial in custody are four times more likely to be convicted, and only one-out-of-ten people charged with a crime in New York can afford bail.
The consequences of lengthy pre-trial incarceration can be quite grave. New York blog ePeak reported on the case of Kalief Browder, a young man incarcerated at 16 for allegedly stealing a backpack. His family was unable to pay $3,000 bail, and the boy spent 3 years on Rikers Island, largely in solitary confinement, before taking his own life.
The high-profile crypto investor and billionaire Mike Novogratz is also a supporter of charity bail projects, namely the Bail Project, an offshoot of the Bronx Freedom Fund.
The New Yorker profiled Novogratz’s involvement with the bail project and accompanied him to the Vernon C. Bain Center, a barge functioning as a prisoner intake-and-processing centre for the New York City Department of Corrections and the Bronx municipality.
Novogratz and the reporter watched shackled black men in orange coveralls board the barge.
“The boat is symbolic,” said Novogratz. “It’s a slave ship.”
Onboard, “a clerk told a middle-aged Latina that she needed twenty-five thousand dollars instead of twenty-five hundred in order to bail out her son. Apparently, there had been a computer error.” The woman’s son was suffering serious symptoms of MS.
Novogratz spoke colourfully: “The Bail Project is a radical move in its own right,” Novogratz said. “It’s a huge fuck-you to the system. We know the first three to five days in jail are the most damaging.” Sexual assault, job loss, suicide, and beds lost at homeless shelters are common, said Novogratz.
To mine for Bail Bloc, a participant needs simply to download the software.
A commentator named David Gerrard has questioned the intelligence of Mining Monero rather than donating straight to a bail fund. “You’re not donating your computing power…but your electricity…Mine Monero, waste electricity, generate CO2 and send less money to a charity…! What’s not to like?”
That said, Monero mining at present remains profitable enough to keep the network going, so pooled miners may be getting some bang for buck.
There is also no indication yet that Bail Bloc has been audited as a charity.
Luckily, interested parties can donate in whatever ever form most appeals.
Have a crowdfunding offering you'd like to share? Submit an offering for consideration using our Submit a Tip form and we may share it on our site!