California has been trying to end its system of money bail for more than two years.
Now, the question is in the hands of the voters with Proposition 25.
Back in 2018, the legislature did away with money bail, replacing it with a release system based on the risk a defendant poses, not whether he or she can post bail.
Opponents, including the bail bond industry, immediately went to work to overturn that new law, and now it’s on the November ballot.
Prop. 25 would allow the new risk-assessment system to go forward, which John Bauters with the Alliance for Safety and Justice said would be far more fair and less discriminatory, and enhance public safety.
“The idea that the cash bail system keeps us safe is actually a fiction, and using a risk-based approach which will actually examine the probability of a person’s likelihood to reoffend based on statistically significant information, has proven in jurisdictions that have used it to be a better predictor of risk and to actually keep communities safer,” Bauters told KCBS Radio.
However, former Assemblyman Mike Gatto, a guest on KCBS Radio’s “The State of California,” said Prop. 25 has a fatal flaw. Instead of judges setting or denying bail, a defendant’s fate would be determined by a computer algorithm.
“Algorithms are really great for making a recommendation of what movie you might want to watch next,” Gatto, a Los Angeles Democrat, said. “Although, I tell you, when I login to Netflix or Amazon, the algorithm is right only half of the time. Here, when you’re talking about something as precious as someone’s freedom, or someone getting justice, this should be left to human beings. Algorithms, computers should have no participation in this process.”
Voting “Yes” on Prop. 25 gets rid of money bail. A “No” vote would keep it.
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