Backers want to save taxpayer money and keep people from “languishing” behind bars (excerpt from The Colorado Independent – April 4 2019) It’s probably not often that the bail industry, Charles Koch and progressive criminal justice reformers agree. But all three are backing a bill that would require Colorado courtsRead More →
Bail reform’s killer mistake: Criminal justice overhaul may have taken away important tool courts use to keep dangerous people off the streets (excerpt from Daily News – April 6 2019) Michael Cammarata and his girlfriend were charged Friday with the murder of Cammarata’s estranged wife Jeanine after the schoolteacher’s burnedRead More →
Justified outrage as Atlanta man released after shooting at the police (excerpt from Law Enforcement Today – Mar 28 2019) ATLANTA, GEORGIA: Kenneth Gilbert and his father were driving around Atlanta earlier this month when they saw several police officers in an unmarked Atlanta Police S.W.A.T. vehicle. Unprovoked, and with noRead More →
Why the criminal justice system should abandon algorithms (excerpt from TNW Feb 6 2019) Here’s a choose-your-own-adventure game nobody wants to play: you’re a United States judge tasked with deciding bail for a black man, a first-time offender, accused of a non-violent crime. An algorithm just told you there’s aRead More →
The city of Atlanta is trusting potential shoplifters, pot users and illegal drivers to return to court, requiring nothing but their signature to get out of jail. (excerpt from The Reveal March 26 2019) ATLANTA — Donna Smitherman sits in clear view of the Atlanta Detention Center as she talksRead More →
Bail Reform—A View From the Bench (excerpt from New York Law Journal – March 27 2019) As a New York state court judge who has presided over felony criminal cases in Manhattan for the past 11 years, I am gratified that the Legislature and the Governor are on the vergeRead More →
The Black Box of Bail Algorithms: One Sensible Solution (excerpt from Jurist – Legal News and Research – Mar 14 2019) JURIST Guest Columnist Jeff Clayton, Executive Director of the American Bail Coalition discusses a recent Idaho bill proposal that seeks to reform the use of risk assessment algorithms inRead More →
Let judges handle bail, and keep Texas safer (excerpt from TribTalk – Texas and authored by Former U.S. Representative Ted Poe, Mar 12 2019) In order for any criminal justice system to work properly, justice must mean something to the offender, to the victim and to the community. Justice cannotRead More →
Judge releases man accused of raping women at gunpoint (excerpt from KRQE New Mexico – March 7, 2019) ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – The man accused of raping women at gunpoint has been released from jail. Nicolas Williams was arrested last week on one count of rape. The 26-year-old is accused ofRead More →
How the end-bail crowd is already making city streets more violent (excerpt from the NY Post – March 7, 2019) New York’s streets are already more violent, thanks to the political war on bail. Consider just three recent cases: Harlens Hernandez, 25, allegedly yelled “you white bitch” while slashing a woman’sRead More →
