NRA-ILA 9/26/2022
As part of a criminal justice “reform” effort, the state of Illinois is preparing to unleash the first statewide no-cash bail law, which will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2023, and the ramifications could be disastrous.
The policy, or variations of it, have already been implemented in a number of areas, generally promoted by radical District Attorneys (DAs) who have decided that, rather than using a financial commitment (bail) from an accused individual to better ensure that person shows up for their day in court, an honor system is all that is needed.
In simple terms, someone caught committing a crime, or arrested for committing a crime after an investigation, is brought before a judge, and if they plead “not guilty” to the crime (or crimes) for which they are charged, the judge sets a trial date. It is during this process that, usually, people can be released from jail while they wait for their trial date (pre-trial release), provided they give certain assurances they would actually show up for that date.
DAs, historically, have asked for financial guarantees that the accused will come back to face trial. For some of the more serious crimes, or crimes for which the prosecution (DA) has what it feels is nearly irrefutable evidence of guilt, the prosecution either asks for a great deal of money (bail), or asks the defendant be held with no bail.
Judges—again, historically—then look at everything presented thus far, and determine either an appropriate level of bail, or deny bail. But certain radical DAs believe that, for most crimes—including some very violent crimes—a mere promise to return for trial from the accused is all that is necessary.
It’s almost as if these DAs have little interest in actually prosecuting people.
Of course, the criminal justice system is far from perfect: Nobody questions that. Crime, obviously still exists, and everyone acknowledges that crimes frequently go unsolved, and criminals often go unpunished for their acts.
But that has always been the case, and likely will be for some time. The elimination, or at least solving, of all crime is a laudable goal, but is currently achievable only in the world of science fiction and fantasy writers.
More:
https://www.nraila.org/articles/20220926/illinois-sets-the-stage-for-possible-unprecedented-crime-wave