There’s a reason why bail is part of our criminal justice system. In setting bail a Judge weighs the defendant’s flight risk, as well as the seriousness of the alleged crime. In the case of George Howard, a Minnesota judge set bail at $11,500 after Mr. Howard was arrested and charged to domestic abuse in early August 2021.
Mr. Howard didn’t have to worry about such things, however, because the Kamala Harris-backed Minnesota Freedom Fund paid the bail. In their view “every individual who has been arrested by law enforcement is … eligible for bail … [and] should not have to wait in jail simply because they don’t have the same income or access to resources as others.” Mr. Howard went free.
On August 29th – less than 3 weeks later – Mr. Howard allegedly “became involved in a road rage altercation … before he shot another driver.” The victim was a 38 year old Luis Ortiz, who died minutes later from a gunshot wound in the chest.
Tragedies happen and there is no escaping the risk of violent crime in a free and open society but many times these horrible events are avoidable if common sense prevails. The idea that bail should set aside fails to recognize the obvious risk to innocent members of society. The Vice President foolishly accepted that risk and Mr. Ortiz paid the price.