Califonia Gets Rid of Bail Bonds!

On August. 28 in Sacramento, Calif. Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill along with State senator Bob Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys, and Assemblyman Rob Bonta that abolished bail in California. California is the first state to eliminate bail for suspects awaiting trial. After 40 years of fighting for this bill to pass, a California appellate court finally spoke up and “declared  the state’s cash bail system unconstitutional.” This is what Governor Brown had to say moments after signing the bill,” Today, California reforms its bail system so that rich and poor alike are treated fairly.” This new law goes into effect in October 2019. Governor Brown said in his 1979 State of the State Address that the powers were biased and favored the wealthy who can buy their freedom, meanwhile leaving poor people to suffer the consequences remaining in custody.

Under the new law, persons arrested for a crime would be released before their arraignment based on their “risk assessment.”  Those seen as a “high risk” would remain in custody until their arraignment. Some people feel that bail should still available, just affordable for everyone. I feel keeping people in jail and away from their family is wrong, aren’t we still Innocent until proven guilty? See full story here: https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article217461380.html

After asking a couple of students on campus what they thought about California being one of the first states to get rid of bail, here are their responses.

“I think getting rid of bail has pros and cons. One pro is that those who commit a violent crime can’t post bail and live a good life even for a little while. On the other hand if someone is innocent, but gets arrested for a violent crime, then they won’t be able to post bail to prove that they are innocent. I think Governor Brown has the state’s best interest at hand, and this is just another hard decision he has to make for the better interest of the state.” -Abraham Contreras (12)
“My take on California getting rid of bail is that for the innocent people who didn’t do the crime, they can’t post bail to prove they aren’t guilty. For those that commit a violent crime this is a good punishment for them because then they won’t hurt anyone else. I think Governor Brown is making a tough decision and he is doing what he thinks is best for our state. Also a lot is being said about this and I think people should voice their opinion.” -Jojoe Nunez (11)