Delaware legislators failed to move House Bill 204 through judicial committee today amid the backlash of issues surrounding taxpayer funded pretrial release.
“The guy that murdered my son on a Sunday afternoon in broad daylight was let out because they did the risk assessment and said this guy was OK to release,”
“I really do believe, deep in my heart, that if this guy was required to pay some sort of bond, my son would be alive.”
“There are some people who really need to be held accountable,” Rodgers said. “They need the bail bondsmen, they need the bounty hunters.”
– June Rogers
Bail reform push hits committee snag
(reported by Delaware Online – June 7 2017)
A push to dramatically reduce the use of bail in Delaware’s courts hit a snag when the House Judiciary Committee tabled legislation Wednesday.
The move does not mean the bill is dead, and the sponsor intends to get it passed this year. But there are only three weeks left before the General Assembly adjourns.
The bill would make sweeping changes to the state’s pre-trial release program. Most notably, it would give judges more options to release defendants without requiring cash bail.
They could require an ankle monitor, demand that the defendant hold down a steady job or institute regular mandatory check-ins with court officers, for example.
Judges could still have the option to impose cash bail, but the goal is to make that much less frequent.
“We unnecessarily detain individuals just because they lack funds for their release,” said the sponsor, Rep. J.J. Johnson, D-New Castle.
The legislation was crafted by a small army of government and advocacy groups, including judicial branch leaders, the Attorney General’s office, the Public Defender’s office, the State Police and the Delaware Criminal Justice Council.
Those who represent the bail bonds industry oppose the bill, arguing it could let dangerous people back onto the streets. They say it would needlessly create a new bureaucracy that would cost taxpayers money.
The motion to table the bill came after emotional testimony from June Rogers, a New Jersey resident who said her son was murdered two months ago.
“The guy that murdered my son on a Sunday afternoon in broad daylight was let out because they did the risk assessment and said this guy was OK to release,” said Rodgers, who came to Legislative Hall with the CEO of a Delaware bail bond company. “I really do believe, deep in my heart, that if this guy was required to pay some sort of bond, my son would be alive.”
Rodgers said bail bondsmen play important roles in some communities, making sure people make their court dates.
“There are some people who really need to be held accountable,” Rodgers said. “They need the bail bondsmen, they need the bounty hunters.”
Defenders of the bill argue that many people who are charged with crimes already go free under the current system, but only if they can make bail. It’s unfair, they argue, for people to languish in prison simply because they are poor.