When bond is too low, suspect might skip court
Media reports about a driver hitting a child raised questions about why the alleged perpetrator was not already in jail or at least out on bond. The drag racing in High Point does the same thing. No reports on bail were given.
A television news story stated there were 10,000 papers (mostly failure to appear) waiting to be served in Guilford County. When people are charged with a crime, they are most likely arrested then and taken before a magistrate. But some magistrates and later on some judges let defendants go on their own recognizance or on low bonds, even on felonies and serious misdemeanors. Some judges and even the sheriff have called for more and higher bonds because of the rising FTAs.
Low bonds and nonsecured bonds encourage defendants to miss court. Media reports say that jail overcrowding is not to blame for so many being released with little or no bonds. But why do crimes committed today seldom require the same bond amount that they did five to 10 years ago? If defendants fail to appear, then justice is not served for victims.
Reasonable bonds will greatly reduce failure to appear and crimes committed while the suspect is out on bond awaiting trial.
M.H. “Skip” Dalton
Greensboro
Comments (1)
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"Media reports about a driver hitting a child raised questions about why the alleged perpetrator was not already in jail or at least out on bond."
He wasn't just a driver. From previous articles he had a DWI conviction in '05, 2 DWI arrests in '07 that were dismissed (didn't explain why) and was driving with a revoked license. Apparently he had been drinking when this accident occurred.
If there are any legal experts around please explain why this guy wasn't kept in jail.
Posted on November 30, 2008 11:24 AM