City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito has requested that a taxpayer funded bail fund be set up to aid those with bails up to $2,000. Since bail is a way to get defendants to actually show up for their trials, we have to wonder what the reasoning is behind this push. If the financial burden is removed, what incentive does an accused person have to actually show up in court? Furthermore, there already are charities that will put bail money up for indigent defendants as well as bail bondsmen who cover court costs for as little as 10% of the bail. We already pay for the attorneys of defendants that can't afford representation, so why should we also bail out someone who is quite likely to commit more crimes upon his/her release?
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