Fiona Apple Releases New Song / Fundraises To Release Incarcerated Women For Mother’s Day
Her first new song in 5 years, “Pretrial (Let Her Go Home}” advocates for victims of the cash bail system. as she takes to social media w/ info & resources
We have a deep love for Fiona Apple. This admiration not only applies to her otherworldly voice and tremendous songwriting ability, but her character and the causes she’s chosen to take on and speak out about. For several years, Apple has been participating in a practice known as Court Watching, which allows individuals to virtually sit in on court proceedings to monitor the process and take notes documenting potential injustices. Fiona is personally involved with Court Watch PG, monitoring Prince George’s County, Maryland, which gained attention back in 2020 with claims of human right’s violations and unsanitary conditions in their jail resulting in the rapid spread of Covid-19.
Ensuring citizens have access to monitor court proceedings is a right written into our constitution, but the importance of the practice has been largely forgotten over time. Evidence has shown that Court Watching can have tangible effects, as the act of being watched changes the way that those involved operate. It creates accountability that can often result in lawsuits against members of the courts themselves, who are more likely to disregard and violate the rights of defendants when no eyes are on them to regulate their behavior. Her passion to raise awareness of the Court Watch program and advocate for the creation of a national network of court watchers led Fiona to narrate the intro and compose music for the following National Courtwatch PSA video in 2023.
Through her activism, the musician became acutely aware of the inherent corruption in our nation’s cash bail system. Through her court watching, she has witnessed the tangible effects of what is one of the many classist and racist structures that exploit and disproportionately affect underserved communities in this country. Laws don’t apply evenly if incarceration is wealth-based, allowing those with the means to avoid jail time and those who cannot afford to pay their way out to remain locked up. One of the most important aspects to acknowledge is that people are being detained for extended periods before ever being convicted of anything. It’s said that 90% of people in Atlanta‘s Fulton County Jail are only there because they don’t have the financial means to bond out. These unconvicted citizens can sit in a cell for 6 months simply waiting for a court date to sentence them for a 30-day charge, meaning that they’ve already served their time 6 times over. It’s a criminalization of poverty.
The Center For American Progress believes that “cash bail practices undermine the presumption of innocence in the criminal legal system and lead to racially and economically disparate outcomes.” Stating that “an individual’s ability to afford bail is the single most important factor in determining if they are released to the community pretrial or if they await their trial from a jail cell.” Remember that these people have not been convicted of anything, and the majority of charges are related to minor non-violent offences. Every 3 seconds, someone is arrested in the US, which equates to over 10.5 million arrests a year. The ACLU uses the figure that, in 2020, 630,000 people per day were locked up in local jails on average; most of whom weren’t convicted of any crime. They explain that “Defendants face an impossible choice: remain locked up in jail as the case moves through the system; pay a nonrefundable fee to a for-profit bail bonds company; or plead guilty and give up the right to defend themselves at trial.” It’s essentially extortion, which allows those with money the privilege to purchase their freedom, further insuring that the laws are geared toward their benefit and against the marginalized and underprivileged.
As her first new song in 5 years, Fiona Apple just released a powerful track that speaks to the injustices of the cash bail system. More specifically, “Pretrial (Let Her Go Home)” focuses on all of the single mothers who are locked away without charges. It’s an indictment on the entire system, as well as a call to action. The lyrics emphasize the violations of the extended detention of these women, who often have their cases dropped after serving time. Just as importantly, it casts a spotlight on the horrific domino effects within their families and communities. It’s difficult to even view these tragedies as “flaws” in the system, so much as calculated results of an insidious power structure that benefits from tearing families and communities apart.
The accompanying video for “Pretrial (Let Her Go Home)” is heartbreaking, featuring footage and images of real-life mothers victimized by pretrial incarceration, statistics, and details about how the practice ripples through the lives of those around them. Watch it below.
At the end of the video, Fiona compels viewers to “help return these mothers to their families,” followed by the URL www.lethergohome.org. When you visit the site, you are given the option to watch the video above, as well as to “LEARN MORE” and “TAKE ACTION.” From there, you can find local bail funds, donate, or even volunteer to court watch.
When her last album, Fetch The Bolt Cutters, was released, Apple exerted minimal effort toward its promotion. This is something she commented on a few years back when speaking out about court watching. stating that she generally hates doing promotion work, but doing it for court watch has more value than pushing her music. Focusing on her talents to bring attention to these social causes is something that she’s passionate about, but Fiona doesn’t have any social media accounts. Hardcore fans know that, when she wants to make a statement or reach people on social media, it is generally posted through the account(s) of her best friend and roommate, filmmaker Zelda Hallman. Today, a new video message from Apple appeared on the Instagram accounts of both Hallman and a public defender by the name of Scott Hechinger. Hechinger is the founder of Zealous, a “National advocacy, media, and education initiative” dedicated to creating “enduring and transformative policy changes.” Fiona has partnered with them regarding the new song/video.
In her Instagram video. Apple speaks directly about pre-trial and the women who are impacted, specifically black mothers. She provides information on organizations that she trusts and ways to help. Most urgently, she compels anyone with the means to help donate to get the unconvicted black mothers released from jail ahead of Mother’s Day so they can be with their babies. Watch her heartfelt plea below, and after you’re finished wiping away your tears, consider contributing if you’re able.