Commentary: If defendants work, we all win

At any given moment, nearly half a million Americans are awaiting trial in jail. Almost two-thirds of these people will remain incarcerated until their trial, including about half of those with no prior history of arrest.

These people are presumed innocent. Unfortunately, the ability to pay bail is more dependent on someone's income than on the severity of his or her alleged crime. Many people who are neither a threat to the community nor a flight risk sit idly behind bars - losing wages and often their