EQUAL JUSTICE NOW
Our mission is to preserve the rights of our citizens. Our immediate objective is to stop funding expensive & ineffective bail legislation.
“First they came for the socialist, and I did not speak out because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me, and there was no one left to speak for me.”
– Martin Niemoller
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Posted by Equal Justice Now on Monday, February 11, 2019
KNOW THE FACTS ABOUT BAIL
Should Texas Taxpayers be forced to pay to replace an effective private sector business with a less effective taxpayer-funded government program?
Texas lawmakers seek bail reform funding that could cost taxpayers over a billion dollars to replace what the private sector already does, effectively and efficiently, at no cost to the taxpayer.
THE PROBLEM
Risk Assessments are Ineffective
Risk assessments are steadily being proven to be junk science. Scholars and social justice advocates agree that these risk assessment algorithms promote racial injustice and are highly ineffective at accurately predicting the flight risk of a defendant.
After implementation of the proposed risk assessment app in Harris County, supposed low-risk criminals released on unsecured bonds failed to appear in court 50% of the time.
Additionally, risk assessment tools do not satisfy the requirements of recent decisions from the 5th Circuit or the 11th Circuit regarding bail reform.
The current tool proposed by the Office of Court Administration is not automated and it is not a program that accesses criminal history databases. The app simply calculates a score based upon information entered into the app, provided by the defendant, and the information entered is not disclosed to the court.
THE SOLUTION
Private Surety Bondsman have a 90% success rate
Private surety bondsman have a personal stake in guaranteeing a defendant shows up in court. The private surety bondsmen of Texas have the lowest failure to appear rate of any other type of pretrial release system.
The private bail industry is made up of hundreds of small family businesses that employ thousands of people across the state. In addition to many of these small business being women- and minority-owned, many bail agents have strong backgrounds in military or law enforcement, and they are all supporters of a robust and accountable criminal justice system in Texas.
With over 700,000 bonds posted each year, Texas’ private bail industry ensures over 6.8 million court appearances. If a defendant decides to flee the county, state or country, the private bail industry goes out and retrieves that defendant and brings them back to Texas to face justice at no cost to taxpayers.
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