Nicole Follmann arrived at the Brooklyn House of Detention last spring to post bail by fax. This is how it works: You can post someone's bail from any jail or courthouse, but you have to send a fax to wherever the person is housed. Follmann is an attorney for the Brooklyn Community Bail Fund, so she's used to the inflow and outflow of documents. That day, she was posting bail for someone housed in Rikers.
The process began as usual, according to Follmann. The person being detained had a bail that needed to be paid in two installments: $2,000 and $1. Correctional officers at Rikers received the $2,000 payment, but she didn't get confirmation that they had received $1. It was getting late, so Follmann called to ask if there was a problem.
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