- Is it All About the Cash?
A coalition of Bail Bond organizations, a conservative policy group and former Secretary of Correction Theodis Beck all spoke in favor of setting up a study committee to increase the use of bail bond at the post-conviction stage in North Carolina. The study initiative is sponsored by Rep. Pryor Gibson and was presented to the Crime Control, Corrections and oversight committee in mid-March.
Proposals for how bail bonds would be used after sentencing ranged from allowing non-violent juvenile offenders to bond their way out of prison to using bail bond as a security when an individual on post-release supervision is rearrested.
If this sounds a little like being allowed to "buy your out of prison," you might be right. Since the individual being bonded would be locked up, family members would need to come up with the money. It appears that if there were two individuals with identifcal backgrounds, the one whose family couldn't put up the bond could not be released under the proposals described.
Supporters of the initiative said that bail bondsmen could provide another tool for helping probation officers manage their caseloads.
ALEC, a national organization promoting federalism and conservative policy solutions has created a model bill for states to review. Another of ALEC's model bills is the "Citizen's Right to Know: Pretrial Release Act." That bill was opposed by NC Pretrial Programs, the County Commissioners' Association and the Sheriff's Association. It was defeated in the last session of the legislature.
What's Next?
It's likely that a committee will be established to study this matter further and to determine whether it can work within the context of North Carolina's Sentencing Structure. There are many questions that still need to be asked about this initiative and if you are familiar with how bail bonds are used at the pre-sentencing stage, we hope you'll get involved.
Sen. Charles Dannelly, Co-Chair
Rep. Angela Bryant, Co-Chair
Rep. Garland Pierce, Co-chair
