OpEd Contributor
Getting out of jail for free
By: Rebecca Hurley and Michael Hough, OpEd Contributors
-
March 12, 2009
KEY DATA: An estimated 30 percent of defendants released by the government are still fugitives after one year, compared to 19 percent with commercial bail.
TAKE HOME: Government-run bail bond programs let too many criminals go too easily to prey on innocent citizens.
With state and local governments facing growing deficits, citizens across the nation should be outraged that government agencies are using taxpayer money to release dangerous criminals from jail and failing to keep track of them.
In Philadelphia alone, as recently reported in The Philadelphia Enquirer, criminals have cost the city $1 billion over the last 30 years by skipping out on city-issued bail bonds.
Bail bonds are traditionally used to ensure that defendants released from custody return for all their scheduled court appearances. The bond is supposed to be high enough to motivate the defendant to show up or they loose the amount of the bond.
Since most defendants don’t have the money to put up front, they borrow it from a bail-bond agent who then assumes the responsibility for that defendant’s appearance in court and must forfeit the bail if the defendant skips out.
Sadly, like many cities and counties across the country, Philadelphia decided to replace the successful privately run commercial bail bond industry with a government-run bail bond system.
Unlike commercial bail bonds, government-run bail bond programs leave the taxpayers on the hook for criminals who decide to skip out on scheduled court appearances. This “revolving door of justice” essentially forces taxpayers to subsidize the release of dangerous criminals who are often left free to commit new crimes.
The government has proven to be ineffective when it comes to making sure defendants return to court after they are released and apprehending them when they skip. Not surprisingly, in states where the government is the only option for bail, the number of fugitives has dramatically increased.
In Oregon, which banned commercial bail in 1978, “[T]he failure-to-appear rate has skyrocketed,” said District Attorney Joshua Marquis. Criminals skipping court dates costs taxpayers in terms of rearranging and rescheduling court dates, finding and apprehending fugitives, and wasting the time of judges and prosecutors. Not to mention the additional costs resulting from any new crimes committed while the criminal is free.
Among those freed using government issued bonds is Paul Erle Eischeid, a member of the notorious motorcycle gang, the Hell’s Angels. Eischeid, who was arrested for his connection with a brutal murder of an Arizona woman, was released on his own recognizance and required to wear a tracking device.
In short order, he secured a spot on America’s Most Wanted after removing the device and fleeing. In Oregon, a man with 49 previous arrests and at least 15 convictions was released on a government bond while awaiting trial for burglary.
During this time, he kidnapped and raped a 13 year-old girl. Also in Oregon, Robert Holliday was kidnapped and murdered by Lee Knoch, who was actually out on government-bail and awaiting trial for a previous assault against Holliday.
Unfortunately these sad stories are not uncommon in areas where government-run bail has replaced commercial bail. The fact remains that government-run bail bond programs lack the resources or incentives of the private-sector to track and/or catch released prisoners.
Thanks to a recent study by the Department of Justice, we know that upwards of 30 percent of defendants released by the government remain fugitives after one year as compared to 19 percent of defendants released on commercial bail.
If state and local governments are going to continue to fund and operate government-run bail agencies, there needs to be some accountability brought to the system. Just as a number of states are enacting transparency requirements when it comes to spending, similar laws should be enacted when it comes to government-run bail agencies.
Last year, Texas and Florida enacted the Citizen’s Right to Know Act, which requires that government-run bail bond agencies account to the public for both their spending and results.
If necessary reforms in the criminal justice system are to occur, the public and legislators need to know how much money is being spent to bail criminals out of jail, and once out of jail, how many individuals are skipping their court-appointed hearings and subsequently committing new crimes.
Rebecca Hurley is a legislative researcher and Michael Hough is director of the Public Safety and Elections Task Force at the American legislative Exchange Council in Washington D.C.
1.jpg){kind=small}
1.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
.jpg){kind=small}
