#bailbondforall

Should Bail Still be A Thing?

You might think that the idea of a criminal paying for their freedom as something that should be abolished. And sure, rich jerks and actual criminals just pay for their freedom after committing crimes is distasteful, along with bail bond companies making money out of the whole thing.

But the system also allows those who need the freedom to keep their jobs and provide for their family. Through the service of bail bondsmen who actually want to help those who need help with making bail. We all have the right to enjoy our freedom, including those who might have strayed from the right path, until the day of their judgment.

Bail Jargons You Should Know

Being a layman doesn’t mean that you just leave the mumbo-jumbo fine print to the lawyers who toiled to understand them. Educate yourself of these terms that is usually encountered on a bail bond contract to know the terms of what you are signing.

Indemnitor – The person who co-signs, guarantees and responsible to ensure the defendant’s appearance in court.

Bail Condition – The court may set a condition to ensure that the inmate will not miss his court appointment. The court may also give additional conditions for the welfare of the defendant. Sample of this type of bail condition is the defendant should attend counselling while on bail.

Defendant – The individual who is accused of a crime; the person you need to bail out of prison.

Failure to Appear (FTA) – Absent for a required court hearing. This spells additional criminal case on the defendant.

Aiding and Abetting – Knowingly aiding a fugitive, such as providing money, food, assistance, or shelter.

Forfeiture – In case of an FTA, the guarantor or indemnitor is demanded to pay the full bond to the court; or, relinquish the collateral pledged for the bail.

Should We Really Forgo Bail?

Many civic groups are rallying for the abolition of cash bails. They argue that it is promoting the rich vs. poor justice system. Surely, a wealthy party goer arrested for DUI wouldn’t mind paying the paltry bail; compared to a lonely, problematic breadwinner who just had a bad day and drank before going home.

While there can be truth to the statement that only the people who could afford bail can be given liberty, it is unfair to brand ALL bail bonds companies are milking this constitutional right of the accused.

Bail bonds are there to aid people who cannot afford to pay their bail upfront. We acknowledge the fact that a significant number of defendants could not even pay the bail premium. In spite of this, legitimate Bail bondsmen are doing their best to address the issue by providing affordable payment options.

The real solution to the issue of the rich vs poor bail is to factor in the capacity and the circumstance of the defendant when the bail is set. In short, make the system equitable. On the side of the bail bonds businesses, we are absorbing the whole risk when the defendant skips bail. What is 10% of the bail to that kind of risk?

We should remember that the purpose of bail is to secure the attendance of the defendant to all of his court hearing while enjoying the temporary liberty given to them. Without setting any bail, it's like giving the defendant a free pass to do crime without any consequence.