In the United States, the rate for wrongful convictions lies between 2–10%. Sounds low, right? The prison population, if estimated at 2.3 million, makes that between 46,000–230,000 innocent people locked up for crimes they did not commit.
The Innocent Project is an entire platform dedicated to documenting and helping innocent people who are jailed over wrongful convictions.
What Goes Wrong?
The very reason the law enforcement agencies exist is to ensure that innocent people are kept safe—outside, not inside the prison. So how do innocent people end up in jails?
It’s easy enough to see. In a country so constantly racked by police brutality, many innocent people find themselves at loggerheads with the forces. They might or might not have committed minor misdemeanors—these days most end up with handcuffs on them based on their skin color.
Most of the people who do end up in jails come from impoverished or low-income backgrounds, with no understanding of their rights. They languish in jail, thinking their trials will eventually in exonerate them.
But the Trials are Far, Far Away
What most people in jail fail to realize is that trials can take months to happen. It’s not that you’re arrested today, and you get a trial tomorrow. Even then, there’s the question of fair trials, which according to rumor aren’t meted out to everyone on the stand.
How the Bail Industry Prevents this from Happening
It has been noted that defendants who post bail and are released get handed lighter sentences if found guilty.
On the contrary, people who can’t pay their bail and stay in jail are treated harshly and get stricter sentences. It would seem that the entire system is designed so as to keep the less privileged oppressed.
Bail bond agencies, however, stand firmly in way of such oppression.
No matter how big the bail amount, bail bond agencies help defendants post their bail as swiftly as possible. Thus, even when a defendant cannot produce the money on their own, they can be released. Once they are released, they can work toward building their case in privacy with their criminal defense lawyer. Being out of jail also helps soothe their senses and puts their worries to rest, which has positive effects on the outcome of the trial.
Lee Calhoun is a Florida bail bondsman who has been serving Starke and other cities for more than 15 years. His expertise in the bail process makes him one of the most efficient bail bond agents in the state. Lee Calhoun is also known as one of the cheapest bail bond agents in the region, with a great many clients statewide.