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Curiosities t1_jdxsbg4 wrote

Reply to comment by casanovaelrey in New Yorkers overwhelmingly support bail changes ahead of state budget deadline: Poll by Grass8989

Yep. A lot of people don't even know what bail is, especially that it's not punitive, and opportunistic politicians and media like the Post capitalize on that. You'll hear the same talking points - 'no consequences for criminals', 'they'll be out in a few hours', 'no consequences for crimes', 'soft on crime' etc but if you ask the people parroting those lines they're fed, how many of them could tell you what bail is, what its function is, what charges qualify, (and importantly under bail reform, the MANY charges that don't qualify for no bail)?

As well as the facts that arraigned suspects need to be tried, that they are legally innocent until proven guilty, that punishment comes after a conviction (or plea deal, because that's where 90%+ of convictions happen).

Too many people think that an arrest means guilty, when that's not how the legal system works, and also, the wrong people are sometimes arrested. The cops are among those saying this misinformation loudly, saying their hands are tied, can't do their jobs, etc when they often slack off and refuse to do their job (a local chain that has had theft can't rely on the cops coming to take their reports), and part of their job is working to provide the DA with enough evidence to prove their cases.

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casanovaelrey t1_jdxus9j wrote

Thank you. I have nothing to add. You're right on the money here.

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AceContinuum t1_jdyjq9n wrote

>The cops are among those saying this misinformation loudly, saying their hands are tied, can't do their jobs, etc when they often slack off and refuse to do their job (a local chain that has had theft can't rely on the cops coming to take their reports)

The journalists are also complicit in this. Every time a cop claims their "hands are tied," the immediate response should be to ask the cop to explain how exactly the bail reform law "tied their hands." Which provision takes away cops' power to investigate? Which provision takes away cops' power to arrest? Which provision makes shoplifting "legal"?

The uncritical mainstream media narrative of bail reform "tying the hands of law enforcement" is one of the most in-your-face examples of propaganda - copaganda - I've ever seen.

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mule_roany_mare t1_jdy1f9v wrote

We need to get rid of bail bondsmen

  1. they inflate the amount of bail necessary by a ridiculous amount

  2. they keep their fee no matter what

Just set bail to be a sufficient amount to keep a person from running & return it all in full when they show up to court. There is no reason a person should pay a bail bondsmen 10k to cover their 500k bail.

Bail bondsmen shouldn't be picking up bail-jumpers either. That should be law enforcement's job.

TLDR

Bail is just supposed to ensure people show up to court & make it too expensive onerous to run.

It's not a fee for the privilege to waiting for trial outside jail.

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