More than 70 percent of criminal suspects released on $0 bail between 2020 and 2021 committed new crimes in Yolo County, according to a district attorney.
The California Judicial Council implemented a statewide Emergency Bail Schedule, also known as $0 bail, which is meant to make the criminal justice system more fair by allowing those without funds to be released.
“When over 70% of the people released under mandated $0 bail policies go on to commit additional crime(s), including violent offenses such as robbery and murder, there is simply no rational public safety-related basis to continue such a practice post-pandemic, especially in light of the increasing violent crime rates across California,” said Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig in a statement released on Monday.
Yolo County ended its $0 bail policy in July of 2021, according to Reisig’s office. The California Judicial Council rescinded the $0 bail order in June of 2020.
Reisig’s office began tracking which criminals were reoffending after being released on $0 bail in June of this year across Yolo County, which includes parts of west Sacramento.
According to Fox News, 595 people were released on $0 bail between 2020 and 2021 in the county. 420 of them or 70.6 percent, were rearrested after committing new crimes. 123 of them, or 20 percent were arrested for involvement in a violent crime such as murder, attempted murder, robbery, domestic violence, kidnapping, or other related crimes, according to Reisig’s office.
One case saw an individual released on $0 bail, who was then charged shortly after with murder.
According to the California Globe, one man who was released on $0 bail would later rape and murder a Sacramento woman, kill her dogs, and set her house on fire.
“The suspect, Troy Davis, was charged Tuesday by the Sacramento County District Attorney’s Office with sexually assaulting and murdering the victim, killing her two dogs, and setting fire to her home in the Land Park neighborhood of Sacramento,” the statement says.
“He was released on ‘zero bail’ after committing a new felony despite having prior convictions and prison time for multiple violent felonies,” Reiseg posted on Facebook at the time. “Shortly thereafter, he randomly targeted a woman in her home, raped her, killed her two dogs, murdered her and lit her house on fire. This horrific crime could have been avoided. He should have never been released on zero bail. Bail reform is appropriate as long as judges always have discretion to hold violent criminals in custody. When ‘reforms’ go too far, this is the nightmare. God rest her soul.”
“None of these appalling crimes would likely have occurred had this person been behind bars where he belonged,” said Vern Pierson, president of CDAA, to the Globe.
