Tyler Lumar Sandra Bland Kalief Browder

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Kalief Browder died two years after he was released from Rikers Island, where he’d spent three years without being convicted of a crime. In 2010, at age 16, he was arrested for second-degree robbery, and spent three years jailed, awaiting trial for allegedly stealing a backpack. Two of those years were spent in solitary confinement. He maintained his innocence throughout his incarceration. He was unable to make the $3,000 bail, and unwilling to take a plea deal. When his family managed to raise the money, his bail was denied.

This Wednesday, Akeem Browder is honoring his brother’s memory by asking politicians to commit to ensuring no one else falls victim to a broken justice system. Browder has created a pledge asking lawmakers and advocates to push for the elimination of “wealth-based detention” practices, which can force defendants to remain behind bars for weeks, months or ― as in Kalief’s case ― years, simply because they can’t afford to bail out. The pledge also asks lawmakers and advocates to make a commitment to “reduce jail populations with real speedy trial, discovery and bail reform.”