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Attorney General Backs State Review of Cash Bail System

Virginia’s cash bail system is in the crosshairs, and a number of judges and prosecutors say they will no longer participate in a system they believe puts a price tag on justice.

Now they have a new advocate in their corner.

Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring says courts should not be guided by who has money rather than who is dangerous. That’s why he’s asking the Virginia Crime Commission to look at the cash bail system, which he says is broken.

“I think it’s about making sure that we identify those who are a danger or who are a flight risk and making sure that they are not the ones who are released back into the community," Herring said Monday at an event in Fairfax. "But individuals who are low risk and non-violent do not get stuck in jail simply because they can’t afford bail.”

But what kind of proof should be required for pretrial release to show a court that a defendant is not dangerous or a flight risk? Herring admits he does not have all the answers, although he suspects doing away with cash bail will save taxpayers money.

Fairfax County bailbondsman Dave Gambale disagrees. “The taxpayers pay for pretrial, millions and millions of dollars a year. And the taxpayers don’t pay for bail bondsmen at all. So we take the burden off the taxpayers 100 percent,” Gambale argues.

The real question is will the defendants show up to court without a bailbondsman hounding them? Herring says the experience in other states shows they will.  He notes new technology like automated text messages — gently prompting defendants to show up in court rather than having a bounty hunter show up at the door, which is how the system sometimes works now.

This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.

Michael Pope is an author and journalist who lives in Old Town Alexandria.
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