When a person is placed in a Minnesota county jail to await trial, it may be because that individual could not afford to pay bail. In recent years, the Minnesota Freedom Fund received tens of millions of dollars in donations to help accused individuals who would otherwise have been released from jail if they had funds available for bail money. The issue has been hotly debated throughout the state, with many people saying that criminal laws are biased against people of low income.
There has been a recent push for new laws that would basically end the current cash bail system. These proposals would potentially affect those being held in immigration detention centers who are unable to afford bonds. Those who support the initiative say it is not fair to put someone in jail who has not been found guilty of a crime, merely because the person in question does not have money to pay bail.
Future criminal laws may require bail money to be returned
In an effort to remove the supposed bias in the criminal justice system, lobbyists are also pushing for a new protocol that would require county officials to report information regarding the racial backgrounds of inmates. The effort also proposes that bail money be returned to the payor upon release of the defendant. A representative of The Minnesota Freedom Fund has stated that the group will continue to provide bail money for those who cannot afford it, unless and until reforms are made to state laws that end the biases they believe exist against financially challenged defendants.
Criminal defense support is always available to anyone who is facing charges in Minnesota. By requesting legal support as soon as an arrest has taken place, an accused individual may be able to achieve a more positive outcome than by acting alone. An experienced attorney understands how the system works and can execute a defense strategy that best fits a particular set of circumstances.