11-08-2020, 09:04 PM
(11-08-2020, 04:00 PM)panamaniac Wrote: [quote='ijmorlan' pid='85901' dateline='1604859253']
No, the purpose of bail is to ensure that the defendant pitches up for trial. Added bonus, they aren't cluttering up the jails at public expense.
To add accuracy to this, bail is to keep rich people and the extremely poor people out of jail. Plot twist: some of these poor people actually want to be in jail, as it's an alternative to the street life.
Both the rich and extremely poor have access to lawyers. Anyone earning more than $12,000 and less than $100,000 likely is on their own. If the higher income earner has good credit, there is always that.
Our system is designed to keep the judicial system running at all times. That is, a robust police service, wealthy lawyers, public lawyers and judges on the public dime, and a prison system that provides employment opportunities with good wages.
What are system does not do: It does not keep potentially dangerous people out of jail (awaiting trial) IF income criteria is met. It does not rehabilitate convicts. It creates convicts out of generally decent individuals (those with middling incomes).
Our entire system needs reform. But this will never happen, as you need to follow the money trail. Our system is broken when we see things like this:
1) Someone who kills a spouse or child making bail vs someone that stole something from Toy-R-Us spending 1 year in jail, awaiting trial, to be given a sentence of 'time served'.
2) A transit driver, while off the job, gets s DUI. They get a criminal conviction. Licence suspension. They are a risk to public because of one mistake (in their own car), and lose their job vs a police officer that was high on weed and drunk, after smoking weed and drinking with his other police officer colleagues, will get a conditional discharge, meaning, if they behave for one year, no criminal record, no conviction, no job loss.
3) A repeat sex offender that still makes bail, eventually killing their next victim, vs a repeat offender that doesn't make bail, because they walking on someones flower garden (for real).
4) White collar criminals, they steal millions from their victims, if they get a sentence at all, it's very short, versus someone that robs a bank of $5,000, and sees 10 years.
5) Some sets fire to a shed, in the backyard, causing $1,000 damage, doesn't make bail, careless disregard for human life (even though no humans even close to shed) sits in jail for 1 year awaiting trial, vs someone that causing millions in damage, could have killed people, yet makes bail right away.
Our system is so broken. We failed.