Justice Initiatives: Pretrial Detention

The Open Society Justice Initiative has released a new publication examining pretrial detention—the practice of jailing criminal suspects, sometimes for years, before trial—and efforts to reform its use. "The excessive use of pretrial detention violates human rights and harms all members of society," said Martin Schönteich, a senior legal officer for the Justice Initiative. "Treatment of pretrial detainees is often far worse than for those convicted of crimes, but because they are relatively transient population they receive very little attention."