This has never made sense to me (bail)
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Huruma
Members Posts: 2,284 ✭✭✭
Why should people be released from prison because they have the financial means to pay bail? How is this not classist and discriminatory? Everyone should have the same legal rights and be held to the same standards regardless of their financial status.
No one should have to go to jail until they've been found guilty and convicted.
No one should have to go to jail until they've been found guilty and convicted.
Comments
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Out on bail fresh outta jail California dreamin
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why dont you and your cat make a picket sign and go stand outside of a jail and protest? change begins with one person.
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Why should people be released from prison because they have the financial means to pay bail? How is this not classist and discriminatory? Everyone should have the same legal rights and be held to the same standards regardless of their financial status.
No one should have to go to jail until they've been found guilty and convicted.
Bails are usually set with a person's financial status in mind. A millionaire likely won't receive the same bail as an impoverished person even if they do the same crime. Well, that's how it's supposed to work anyway.
I think a better example of what you're getting at is the fines associated with traffic violations. Attaching money to punishment in that way can be really unfair. There are places where speeding and reckless driving charges can result in 1000+ fines. Now all these rich people driving crazy don't care about that because they can pay it and go on their marry way. However, fines like that can crush people who are less financially stable. It works to a lesser extent with DUI charges too. Think about all those celebrities who get DUI charges. Those charges pretty much have absolutely no effect on them. They won't get blackballed from their industry because them and they have the resources to find other means of transportation if they lose their license. The same is not true for the average person. -
Whats not fair and doesnt make sense is how come they say your innocent until proven guilty yet when you get locked up they hold you until you go to court.
I know here in Baltimore, if your arrested for murder they will make you sit for 18-24 months until you either beat it or get your time.
I know murder is the biggest crime in some instances but ive known dudes that didnt even do the murder yet still had to stay locked up for two yrs. -
That isn't true ^^ bolded area above - The higher the degree of the crime, the more money that is required for bail. Your financial status my help you get the best lawyers and such...HOWEVER that has NO bearing whatsoever if you committ a serious crime like murder.
damn!!!!.....i agree with this guy -
just a way for the city or state to get some quick cash and not have that expense on their hands. plus they also figure if you got that kinda money, youre probably more likely to not flee from the situation.
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when u beat the case , are you getting back your bail money ???
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when u beat the case , are you getting back your bail money ???
Only if you pay the Bail in full. You dont get it back if you only pay a percentage. -
That isn't true ^^ bolded area above - The higher the degree of the crime, the more money that is required for bail. Your financial status my help you get the best lawyers and such...HOWEVER that has NO bearing whatsoever if you committ a serious crime like murder.The Lonious Monk FYI
The Bail Process
When someone is arrested, he or she is first taken to a police station to be booked. When a suspect is booked, or processed, a police officer records information about the suspect (name, address, birthday, appearance) and the alleged crime. The police officer conducts a criminal background check, takes the suspect’s fingerprints and mugshot and seizes and inventories any personal property, which will be returned when the suspect is released. The suspect is also checked to see if he or she is intoxicated and usually is allowed to make a phone call. Finally, an officer puts the suspect in a jail cell, usually with other recently booked suspects.
For less serious crimes, a suspect may be allowed to post bail immediately after being booked. Otherwise, the suspect will have to wait (usually less than 48 hours) for a bail hearing where a judge will determine if the accused is eligible for bail and at what cost.
Sorry, but you're wrong. As you highlight in your second post, a judge determines the cost of the bail. What you don't acknowledge is that judges have a pretty wide discretion as to how they set bail. They have guidelines but there is lots of leeway as to what they can do within those guidelines. Factors that are associated with bail amount are severity of crime, potential danger in case of release, and ties to community. Bail is also commonly used as a deterrent for fleeing. In cases such as that, a person's wealth does come into play. A judge is not going to set the same amount for a rich person as he would for a poor person. A $30,000 bail won't mean anything to someone worth $300 Million, so a judge would most likely set a higher bail in that case or just deny bail altogether. In that sense, it would actually work out better for a poor person, because a poor person will never be denied bail due to an abundance of resources. -
Would you say the same thing if someone murdered your family & you were the only living witness?
I'd know that (s)he committed the crime. If we don't know, we shouldn't assume guilt. -
Only if you pay the Bail in full. You dont get it back if you only pay a percentage.
thanks man -
Huruma said this
No one should have to go to jail until they've been found guilty and convicted.
Just because you know/witnessed the murder.....look above. Are you the judge in this case? where's the due process of the law? Are you still saying THAT NO one should go to jail until they have been found guilty/convicted? Remember in my hypothetical you're the only survivor/witness and if NO ONE has to go to jail....you might just be another victim and then that murderer will get off.
Why should innocent people who haven't been found guilty be assumed guilty to ensure that actually guilty people are punished (before even having been 'proven' guilty)? Punishing the guilty is less important than protecting the innocent. -
Go look at my post #7. SO even tho you were a witness to the murder......NO one should go to jail until they've been found guilty and convicted? so are sticking to your guns OR you gonna CHANGE your tune now?
To justify sending someone to jail, it needs to be 'proven' that they've committed the crime. I can't expect the court to take my word on it without presenting good evidence in a court of law, it has to be shown that they are guilty. You should be considered innocent until you've been found guilty, exceptions are rarely justified. Yes, I'd want the person to go to jail but I don't want innocent people to be assumed guilty so there's a legal process that needs to be followed before sending them to jail. -
Heyslick is an idiot. Judges set bail based on the severity of the charges AND the financial situation of the defendant.
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Why should people be released from prison because they have the financial means to pay bail? How is this not classist and discriminatory? Everyone should have the same legal rights and be held to the same standards regardless of their financial status.
No one should have to go to jail until they've been found guilty and convicted.
It makes perfect sense. The Penal system is first and foremost an economic system. There is nothing that they calculate in the system that does not have monetary value.
Your looking at it from a punitive/reward system when it is a creditor/debtor system. Of course it is cl assist and discriminatory. It was designed to be that way. Problem is people believe them when they say it is for punitive/criminal justice. No it's not. It is designed to be an industry unto itself.
Go peep Rich Dad/Poor Dad, the section on how to read a balance sheet. He details how people are taught misconceptions and falsehood as facts and base their thinking and actions off of that.
We got to know the difference between Guns and butter. -
i dont know why this is so difficult to understand. Bail is set to as an insurance policy to guarantee that the accused will show up to court to face the alleged charges. the money is held until the case is concluded, then it is returned. If you use a bail bondsman instead of paying the full requested amount, they charge 10% of the bail amount for using their service.
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We'll see if you feel the same way when Big James breathing down your black ass neck in lock up
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its a business plain and simlpe.
there was an interesting podcast,
http://www.howstuffworks.com/bail.htm
and article here.
its a criminal business, an offer you cant refuse.
no checks and balances cause the defendant has few rights.
and if the probation system is erased it will get worst. -
Bail helps you defend yourself by getting out of jail. Jail holds those awaiting trial minor crimes less than a yr, people awaiting transfur to prison and others held on parole/prob vio. So not all guilty people are in jail. To make things worse when we first got jails we had to pay for every service you recived while in jail. That was some bs favoring the rich.
