On February 16, 2021, PFF posted bail for Antwan Brewster. For months, Antwan's life had been put on hold because he could not afford his $20,000 cash-only bond. After posting bail, Antwan was reunited with his community including his mother Leslie, who was her son's first and best advocate throughout the process. Antwan’s case was dismissed shortly after his release.
Antwan and Leslie both became much-loved members of the PFF community. Antwan’s bail was our first criminal pretrial bail unrelated to the protests during the summer of 2020, and marked the beginning of our expansion into pretrial bail support and our explicit acknowledgment that all forms of incarceration are connected and must be abolished together.
Tragically, Antwan was killed on October 19, 2021. He would have turned 22 in January of this year, so to honor him and Leslie–who has continued to work with PFF to free others like her son–we are introducing The Antwan Project. Beginning on February 16, we are paying 22 bonds in 2022, prioritizing Black youth and young adults like Antwan who have been criminalized and have had their lives disrupted by cash bail.