Bail in the United States is a tradition that dates back to Virginia’s constitution which states: that “excessive bail out not to be required…” This was later adapted into the United States Constitution in the Eighth Amendment. Bail was later more clearly defined in the Judiciary Act of 1789, which described what offences were subject to bail.
The NPR series on bail told an interesting story about bail bondsmen setting impossibly high prices to increase their profit margin, while people sit in jail. NPR interprets this as the rich people walking free, while the poor suffer in jail. While certainly that scenario can play out, I believe NPR left many facts off the table in their piece.
Firstly, NPR allows readers to assume that bail bondsmen set the price of bail, which they do not. The courts set the bail (which cannot, by constitutional law, be “excessive”) and the bail bondsmen can front the accuser’s bail for a nominal fee. While this fee can be out of reach for some, I fully support the bail bondsmen right to charge what they wish in order to make a profit. They are using the free market system to fill a need that was not being filled by the government. The bail bondsmen do not, and should not have an obligation to cater to the needs of every accused inmate in a jail.
I do not support; however, the lobbying against the pre-trial release by the bail bonding lobby. While I do support their right to lobby, I do not support what they are lobbying against. I believe that pre-trial release is a good alternative to bail. Pre-trial release can solve the issue that bail tries to solve (preventing alleged criminals from skipping trial). Both bail and pre-trial release can adequately prevent alleged criminals from skipping their court dates. If a compromise can be made between bail bondsmen and advocates of pre-trial release, significant savings could be passed to the taxpayer due to the shrinkage of jail populations.
Grove to Grubstreet 