Bail – “is a process by which you pay a set amount of money to obtain release from police custody.” Once, a bond is set and paid. One needs to come back to court. Those who cannot post bail will usually hire a bail bond who can negotiate to get 10 percent off of posted bail. Focusing on people who cannot afford to pay their bail or hire a bail bond. Will usually remain in jail until their court date is up. It is problematic. It Can take weeks or months until their court date. Even though the surety, can take 10 percent off the bail amount. It still does not grant people their freedom. Their bail can still be out of their financial reach. Even though they are innocent, they are still doing time because they cannot afford their bail. For example, …show more content…
400 dollars to afford a guarantor. He did not have enough money to afford either of them. He was on the verge of pleading guilty and get a 60-day sentence. It was a tough decision considering he had another charge for weapons. He already had lost his job. Adding another charge to his record will be hard for him gain employment. The reported doing the story on Green had a chance to speak with commissioner of New York Marty Horn. Who stated "Individuals who insist on their innocence and refuse to plead guilty get held," he continued to add “people who choose to plead guilty get out faster.” (Sullivan, 2010). They feel forced on pleading guilty to get out quicker, due to the lack of funds. They are willing to have that on their record. Then wait until weeks or months for their court date. Being away, from friends and family. There much more people being held up in jail. Since they cannot, afford to pay their bail. According to the justice policy report, it cost roughly."In 2011, detaining people in county jails until their charge is resolved cost counties, alone, around $9 billion a year." (“Bail Fail: why the u.s should end the practice of using money for bail,” 2012). It is taxpayer money being used to house, feed, and clothes inmates that are not even
To begin with, while many of these other people are in jail or prison, we do not see or know what all these inmates go through on a daily routine. In jails and prisons, two out of three inmates end up going back to jail
The first “element” states that “excessive bail shall not be required, not excessive fines imposed.” Bail is a temporary
The United States is one of the only few democratic countries that disenfranchises convicted felons. An estimated 5.85 million people charged with a felony are banned from voting. Moreover, felon disenfranchisement laws are a form of racial discrimination because a large percentage of felons are Hispanic, Latino or African American that have been incarcerated as a result of racial profiling. Denying felons from voting is unconstitutional since the right to vote and cast a ballot is supposed to be the cornerstone of democracy. Felons who have completed their sentence should be restored their right to vote as they should be able to participate in elections just like every other citizen. Despite being charged with a felony, felons are also American
people who are arrested are more likely to be denied bail, spend less time with
As we know the federal government spends a large portion of our budget on the maintaining of prisons. During the 2011 fiscal year it cost nearly $29,000 to house a prisoner in a state penitentiary per year as stated by the Federal Register. The funds that are estimated to keep a prison running end up running over the prediction causing them go over budget. We can account for this because according to The Price of Prisons|Oklahoma on Vera.org, here in the state of Oklahoma the Oklahoma Department of Corrections called for $441.8 million taxpayer dollars in the 2010 fiscal year. The actual cost for the maintenance of the prisons called for $453.4 million taxpayer dollars. This is about $11.6 million taxpayer dollars over the set budget for the year. This proves that there are too many things that need to be taken care of in these facilities. Much of the money went to paying employee benefits and to capital costs which is also stated in this article. Instead of using the money to pay for employee benefits they should be using it to pay for what the inmates need. This causes a strain on citizens because they are obligated into paying more taxes. The money being used on prison employee benefits could be going to other programs such as education and Social Security which would benefit more
“Six million people are under correctional supervision in the U.S.—more than were in Stalin’s gulags.”
Prisons have been around for decades. Keeping housed, those of our society who have been convicted
The United States criminal justice system constantly violates human rights. These rights belong to justify every person in America and should not be used to tear one another down for what their beliefs are. Likewise, freedom of speech is so ingrained in the constitution that it should be more widely embraced. The protection of religion, speech, and expression is a critical part of America’s political system. The strong, direct link between freedom and democracy is unbreakable and is an important part in governing ourselves. It states that Congress is prohibited in creating laws against people’s belief’s; yet, it is regularly denied to anyone who talks back to the law. Furthermore, this country supports the death penalty. While some individuals
For decades, we have been made to believe that criminals are people who have done harm to our society, violating the laws of the land, and don 't deserve a second chance. They should be locked away, and the keys should throw away. Unfortunately, today, our world is full of crimes and our system is getting overcrowded with criminals. However, with recent laws like the plea bargain proofs that there is hope and a way out to every situation. A plea bargain can be defined as negotiations during a criminal trial between the prosecutor and the defendant which result in a more lenient sentence than would have been recommended with the original charge (Farlex). Some would say that the use, or abuse, of the plea bargain, allows criminals
Most of these defendants couldn’t afford private attorneys and depended upon public defenders. For instance, Joe Moore had two prior convictions and was facing a maximum of a 90 year sentence for selling three grams of cocaine. However, Moore begged his public defender to call Eliga Kelly to stand in his defense. Moore claimed that Kelly witnessed him shoe Coleman off of his property. For whatever reasons, his public defender never bothered to call Kelly to the stand or even question him privately. After all, Eliga Kelly was considered a star witness for the prosecution, but, as a result of that negligence, Moore was sentenced to 90 years. Unlike most criminal informants, Eliga Kelly refused to lie under oath and in a subsequent trial for a different defendant, the prosecutor called Kelly to the stand. Kelly contradicted Coleman’s testimony by naming several defendants, including Joe Moore, who refused to sell drugs to
The benefit of a bail is for an accused individual to be released if they are able to pay the bail amount. The amount of the bail is determined by an appointed judge. Ultimately, the bail is considered a form of “down payment” left as a way to insure that the accused individual will be showing up to their court. Another benefit of our bail system is that it’s a good way to release individuals who commits minor offenses. At this point our jails are overcrowded. The majority of jails and prisons in the United States have exceeded over capacity limits at one point. This is in part because of our get tough on crime rules. Individuals who commit 3 or more offenses in are sentenced to life in prison. This is not the case in every state however; the
From 1992 to 2006, bail has rise from twenty-five and four hundred dollar to fifty-five and five hundred dollar (Reese). “The idea that somebody goes and sits in Rikers Island (jail in New York City) and endures all of the hardship of that simply because they don’t have $500 or $1,000 is truly offensive and serves no public purpose,” said Jamie Fellner of Human Rights Watch (Reese). Intending to gain monetary or Profit motive of offender that cannot afford cash bail post is an unfair advantage. Laws that put a cap on bails and fees a bondsperson can collect. This law will prevent bail from being unaffordable and the jails be full of people who are stuck in jail because they cannot post cash bail or afford a bondsperson. Bondsperson should accept bonds that are less than a thousand dollar but include other collateral with the fee, such as titles to car, home, or property, that will be refunded once they show up for all court
Although, it's not only about having an innocent person in jail, the fact that the person that actually did the crime is still free makes it even more of a problem. This has been happening for years, decades, and ever since our justice system was established. All of this time nothing has been done about it even though there are still many cases where people are set fre...
This is one of the most important aspects of the criminal investigation process due to the fact that if the proper procedures aren’t followed, the validity of the case will be jeopardized. The Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002 (NSW) outlines the conditions of which a person can be arrested and detained. A key term in the arresting process is ‘suspicion on reasonable grounds’ as this describes the discretion of the police in making arrests. Although for most arrests, a warrant is needed, police can arrest someone if they genuinely believe that the person is guilty of a crime. After a person has been arrested, they will be detained in a police station and this process is also outlined in the Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002 (NSW). The Act outlines the rights a person who has been detained, such as refreshment periods, and the procedures that the police must follow, this is all done to help protect the rights of citizens. If a person is charged with a crime, they will either be put in remand or be allowed to post bail. Bail, also referred to as conditional freedom, allows a person to retain certain rights, such as spend their time awaiting trial in their home, and this is outlined in the Bail Act 1978 (NSW). Bail is a great example in the criminal trial process achieving justice, as the concept of bail seeks to
Free will is a very complicated concept that has been found to be present in both humans and animals and, as such, it is difficult to prove, and even theorise, whether or not humans are responsible for their own actions. While it is a heavy topic of discussion in both psychology and philosophy, it is the implications of this that is the most important. Either way, crime and punishment and religion that is something that should also be looked at.