After reading a recent article on a group of Kentucky judges demanding changes in pretrial release rules, Brian Nairin, Chief Executive Officer of AIA, decided to write a blog on the subject.
It is not often that I will write a blog about a state that does not have commercial surety bail, but after reading a recent article on a group of Kentucky judges demanding changes in pretrial release rules, I felt I needed to. The article to which I am referring was published in the Courier Journal last week and discussed the growing failures of the state’s pretrial release program (and for those of you that don’t know what that is…it is a program that releases defendants for FREE in the hope of reducing jail overcrowding). Now don’t get me wrong, I understand that if you let people out of jail, there will obviously be less people in jail. That concept is pretty straightforward and I think we see eye to eye with the pretrial release agencies on this one. The problem I have is the method that’s used. Releasing people from jail with just their promise that they will return for court is a concept that has proven to be a complete failure, time and time again, and the recent article and results in Kentucky only support this. When things have gotten so bad that judges are starting to complain, that should be a sign to all that change is needed…
To read the entire blog, click on the following link, Behind the Paper with Brian Nairin.