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It actually is a serious problem that there are financially marginal people who can't make modest bail sitting in jail, waiting months and months due to an over-capacity court system, as then even if they're found not guilty or the case is dropped, they often come out having lost their jobs, housing, custody of children, etc, which further burdens the system. This sort of program has value. But if I were in charge of it, it'd definitely be limited to those charged with non-violent crimes.
Samuel Lee Scott, 54, was arrested for domestic abuse on April 5, after he allegedly beat 54-year-old Marcia Johnson, injuring her cheekbone and ear, the Associated Press reported.
Scott also allegedly told Johnson that the “might as well finished what [he] started since [she] was going to contact the police,” the St. Louis Circuit Attorney’s Office wrote in a probable cause statement.
She was granted an order of protection from him on 4/9. Later the same day, the St. Louis Bail Project posted Scott’s $5,000 bail.
“The Bail Project is an unprecedented effort to combat mass incarceration at the front end of the system,” according to the group’s website. “We pay bail for people in need, reuniting families and restoring the presumption of innocence.”
...
“We believe that paying bail for someone in need is an act of resistance against a system that criminalizes race and poverty and an act of solidarity with local communities and movements for decarceration,” the page read.
Hours after his released, he went back to the home and badly abused her with a damaged eye socket, several broken ribs, and brain damage - and she died five days later.
The Bail Project Executive Director Robin Steinberg said the group was “deeply saddened” by Johnson’s murder, but said that they were in no way responsible for what had occurred.
"No one could have predicted this tragedy," Steinberg claimed, according to the Associated Press.
These people blindly bailed him out without any knowledge what happened. They looked at race and class and bailed him out based on those factors alone and a woman lost her life. You have got to be kidding me.
They should be charged as accomplices to the murder. At the least, I hope they are gutted with a civil suit.
“The Bail Project is an unprecedented effort to combat mass incarceration at the front end of the system,” according to the group’s website. “We pay bail for people in need, reuniting families and restoring the presumption of innocence.”
...
“We believe that paying bail for someone in need is an act of resistance against a system that criminalizes race and poverty and an act of solidarity with local communities and movements for decarceration,” the page read.
Hours after his released, he went back to the home and badly abused her with a damaged eye socket, several broken ribs, and brain damage - and she died five days later.
The Bail Project Executive Director Robin Steinberg said the group was “deeply saddened” by Johnson’s murder, but said that they were in no way responsible for what had occurred.
"No one could have predicted this tragedy," Steinberg claimed, according to the Associated Press.
Yes, they absolutely could have predicted it. That is why he was incarcerated, lots of research has shown that someone in his circumstances is likely to retaliate against his victim. They gave him the ability victimize someone whom they claim they are trying to help - a poor minority.
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I would think they should know why they are bailing someone out and what they did beforehand. That is so sad.
Agree. Are they just blindly posting bail for anyone who is black and poor, regardless of the circumstances? This is yet another example of liberals supporting the interests of whichever group is in the "inferior" position, in this case, criminals over innocent victims.
I saw the comment not to judge because someone quoted the person on my ignore list.
Yeah, I think it's fair to judge a program by a mistake like this because it clearly shows that they are not being judicious in terms of giving out bail.
Clearly the program will bail out violent wife beaters etc. without batting an eye and if that was an "accident" then it tells me they don''t have sufficient controls.
Following Johnson’s death and the murder charge against Scott, News 4 reached out to the nonprofit that posted his bail on April 9. Mike Milton, manager of The Bail Project’s St. Louis site, issued the following statement:
”This is a heartbreaking tragedy for this family and their community, and our thoughts and prayers are with them. Nobody wants to see something like this happen, but it is crucial to remember that bail didn’t cause this tragedy -- Mr. Scott, a 54-year-old father, was charged with a misdemeanor, and if he’d just been wealthy enough to afford his bail he would have been free in either case. Moments like this are devastating, but it’s important not to lose sight of the larger injustices of cash bail and the need for reform. The cash bail system poses tremendous risks to low-income communities and families when their members are being jailed simply because they are poor. At least five people died in St. Louis City jails in 2018 alone. Our program has provided bail assistance to over 1,300 low-income St. Louis residents to date and we have seen devastating impacts of pretrial jail firsthand.”
That is a load of crap and I am sure Ms. Johnson wishes they had considered her risk.
The Circuit Attorney's Office said they are going to meet with them, their statement:
Quote:
”Domestic violence matters are especially complicated for both the legal system and for families dealing with these heartbreaking disputes. As various organizations attempt to address bail reform, we believe every case should be reviewed on its own merits rather than on broad classifications that may increase greater harm than it reduces.
In our efforts to reduce community harm, we all must keep the safety of victims and the public as our top priority for all criminal justice policies or procedures. I have scheduled a meeting with the Bail Project for later this week to review their policies and practices to help them better understand the risks to victims and witnesses when posting bail for any type of domestic violence cases or for any defendant who is a potential safety risk to an individual or to the community.”
The bail project needs to stick to non-violent crimes. I agree it is not helpful to lock up a mother or father for 3-6 months for a shoplifting charge or procession of a recreational level of drugs, but the minute violence is involved they need to step away.
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Wish she'd shot that &$%$*#@
