smdxn:Lawsuits Seek To Abolish U.S. Bail Bond SystemCrystal Patterson didn’t have the cash or assets
smdxn:Lawsuits Seek To Abolish U.S. Bail Bond SystemCrystal Patterson didn’t have the cash or assets to post $150,000 bail and get out of jail after her arrest for assault in October.So Patterson, 39, promised to pay a bail bonds company $15,000 plus interest to put up the $150,000 bail for her, allowing to go home and care for her invalid grandmother.The day after her release, the district attorney decided not to pursue charges. But Patterson still owes the bail bonds company. Criminal justice reformers and lawyers at a nonprofit Washington, D.C., legal clinic say that is unconstitutionally unfair…Wealthy suspects can put up their houses or other valuable assets — or simply write a check — to post bail and stay out of jail until their cases are resolved. Poorer suspects aren’t so lucky. Many remain behind bars or pay nonrefundable fees to bail bonds companies. -- source link