Can’t pay? You won’t stay – appeals court weighs bail reform case
Posted on Tuesday, October 10th, 2017 at 11:13 am
The inability to pay bail doesn’t meant someone can be locked up in perpetuity, an appeals judge has said. In the preliminary injunction — which led to the release of some 4,000 people frompretrial detention — you’d be set free after 24 hours if you are unable to post bail. But the Texas county he ruled against says he overstepped.
The judge “cited research showing that defendants who fight their cases from behind bars are much more likely to plead guilty, be sentenced to jail and face longer jail sentences than people who can afford to pay for their pretrial release.”