People advocating for bail reform make several points. The main idea is that some individuals charged with a crime can afford to buy their freedom while others have to stay in jail because they don’t have enough money for even a $500 bail amount.
A Bail Bond in Clayton County is their only option, and some individuals are so poor they cannot even pay the fee for this service. An organization such as Free at Last Bail Bonds works to make the situation easier by offering payment plan options. More details can be seen at visit us website.
An Example of How This Affects Poor People
Someone who doesn’t earn much money and has very little in savings may face a choice between paying rent and paying bail. This person decides it’s better to pay rent, keep the apartment and stay in jail until the court date.
Others live paycheck to paycheck and have no safety net at all. They must quickly acquire a Bail Bond in Clayton County, so they can keep working. Otherwise, they will lose their housing.
The Prevalence of the Problem
The Pew Charitable Trust has reported that more than half of jail inmates are waiting to see whether a public defender or private lawyer can negotiate a favorable plea bargain, or they are waiting for trial.
It’s unclear how many of these individuals are innocent but plead guilty so they can be released with a plea deal. That arrangement might involve a very short jail sentence or a sentence of probation or community service. Even if there is a short period of incarceration, they will be out sooner than if they had waited for trial.
Potential Solutions
A very small number of jurisdictions are releasing most defendants without any cash bail requirement. These experiments have proved very successful, with nearly 90 percent of the defendants making their scheduled court appearances.
Some jurisdictions are prohibiting judges from setting bail unusually high since that still allows wealthy defendants to regain their freedom. The original idea is that defendants paying a large amount of bail have an incentive not to flee because they will lose the money they have put up. Statistics do not indicate that defendants become more of a flight risk without paying bail.
