Wednesday, May 7, 2025

Art Is Activism: New Fiona Apple Song "Pretrial (Let Her Go Home)" Takes On Pretrial Detention of Women; The Inability To Post Bail Keeps Them In Jail While Still "Presumed Innocent" + Fiona's Cover of Neil Young's "Heart Of Gold"

 
 


Fiona released a statement to accompany the new song, explaining her interest in judicial reform (after spending thousands of hours viewing court proceedings online), especially the plight of women, often mothers with dependent children, often poor women of color, who were remanded to custody, unable to post bail. Although they were still "presumed innocent", they were held in jail in pretrial detention due to their inability to post bail:

Time and time again, I listened as people were taken away and put in jail, for no other reason than that they couldn’t afford to buy their way free. It was particularly hard to hear mothers and caretakers get taken away from the people who depend on them. For the past five years, I have been volunteering with the Free Black Mamas DMV bailout, and I have been lucky to be able to witness the stories of women who fought for and won their freedom with the tireless and loving support of the leadership. I hope that this song, and the images shared with me, can help to show what is at stake when someone is kept in pretrial detention. I give this song in friendship and respect to all who have experienced the pain of pretrial detention and to the women of the group’s leadership who have taught me so much and whom I truly love.

Fiona's recent cover of Neil Young's "Heart Of Gold"




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