Treating bail as a political statement instead of a serious and important part of the criminal justice system leads to terrible things. The urge to treat bail as a political game is prompting many liberal jurisdictions to release dangerous repeat felons who are very likely to escalate their violent behavior almost instantly after release.
This can be seen in Minnesota, where the Minnesota Freedom Fund posted the bail of repeat felon Shawn Tillman. Tillman was being held on $2,000 bail for indecent exposure. He had three prior felony convictions: indecent exposure in the presence of a minor, fourth-degree assault, and illegal possession of a firearm. Illegal gun possession in particular should be a red flag that a repeat criminal is a threat to the community.
That turned out to be the case with Tillman. Three weeks after the Minnesota Freedom Fund posted his bail, Tillman was arrested after allegedly shooting and killing a man in St. Paul.
His bail was fairly low despite all the red flags, but the Minnesota Freedom Fund had been eager to cover the cost anyway. This group treats bail laws as a political statement on race. “It is neither just nor effective to respond to violence by denying bail and preemptively punishing people who are disproportionately poor, black, brown, and Indigenous,” the group said in a statement defending its decision.
Tillman would not be the first person the Minnesota Freedom Fund helped spring so he could go on to commit murder.
George Howard was being held on $11,500 bail for a domestic assault incident. Upon being bailed out, he went on to allegedly shoot and kill a driver in a road rage incident.
Another graduate of the MFF school of bailouts is a twice-convicted rapist held on $350,000 bail for allegedly kidnapping and beating women at gunpoint in two separate incidents. Another was a woman held on $100,000 bail for killing a man who didn’t want to have sex with her.
SENTENCED under plea bargain: Darnika Denise Floyd. Charged with 2nd Degree Murder in the Nov ’18 #NEMPLS stabbing death of a man who didn’t want to have sex with her (unless it was a threesome with another woman).
14 years = 9 years in MN.
https://t.co/OzVvb474rp pic.twitter.com/kD2hmyQITD— CrimeWatchMpls (@CrimeWatchMpls) March 20, 2021
The group was able to make all these payments because of Vice President Kamala Harris. She was among those promoting the fund during the Black Lives Matter riots, helping to haul in $35 million in donations. Harris was helped in this by celebrities, including Don Cheadle and Seth Rogen. The group implied it would be using the money to bail out protesters — except only a handful of protesters even needed bail. The group instead used its money to help free accused criminals with higher bail and far more serious charges.
If you’re able to, chip in now to the @MNFreedomFund to help post bail for those protesting on the ground in Minnesota. https://t.co/t8LXowKIbw
— Kamala Harris (@KamalaHarris) June 1, 2020
The criminal justice system is not a game. It is not a place for sanctimonious political statements or woke politics, no matter how Harris, celebrities, and left-wing activists may treat it.
These actions have real consequences, and Minnesotans have been witnessing them in the aftermath of the very riots these same people excused and defended.
