It's a well-known fact that the bail bonding industry makes billions of dollars a year from poor defendants. But this isn't the only reason why private bail is being attacked. As an assistant professor of criminology at the University of Tampa, David Krahl, found in his research that the cost of bail bonds versus other pretrial release options was $95 million. In other words, the cost of private bail is not justified by the crimes of fugitives. Moreover, no one should be deprived of their total freedom until their trial is over.
California voters will decide on ending the practice of bail on Nov. 3. Proposition 25 calls for a system that relies on algorithms to determine a person's risk of failure to appear in court and commit a new crime while out on bail. Rather than the centuries-old practice of trading money for freedom, this system keeps the poor and low-income people locked up in jail. This is a huge problem, so why is it being challenged?
Changing the bail system to a cash-only system would probably cause unneeded strain on the judicial process. Judges and prosecutors would feel no compulsion to send someone to jail because that would be the easy and cheaper option. And this would make our legal system look harsher than it is. That's just one more reason why Californians shouldn't be rushed into making decisions based on the appearance of social responsibility.
A recent ruling by the U.S. District Court in Clanton, Alabama rejected the equal protection theory. These lawyers are constantly pursuing this theory, and sometimes get federal judges flirting with bail equality. However, they always want more. Fortunately, a recent ruling by Judge L. Troy Nunley in Alabama has ruled against the equal protection theory. That doesn't mean that it is time to ban bail bonds completely.