Tag: cash bail

Self-Described ‘Hamas Operative’ Allegedly Behind Antisemitic Vandalism in Pennsylvania Leaves Jail on $50,000 Bail

Tom Pappert
Mohamad Hamad

Court documents from the U.S. District Court in Western Pennsylvania reveal alleged antisemitic vandal Mohamad Hamad was released on a $50,000 bond by Magistrate Judge Kezia O.L. Taylor after he paid a $50,000 unsecured bond on Thursday.

Hamad was charged in on October 25 with committing vandalism at two Jewish community buildings in Pittsburgh alongside an alleged associate named Talya Lubit, with both facing one count of defacing and damaging religious real property and one count of conspiracy.

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Exclusive: Sen. Marsha Blackburn Slams Cashless Bail with Tennessee Sheriff in Push for Restoring Law and Order Act

Tom Pappert

The Tennessee Star on Wednesday exclusively obtained a video released by Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), who urged Congress to pass her Restoring Law and Order Act to provide relief to cities like Memphis, which the senator argued suffers from ill-conceived restorative justice schemes and soft-on-crime judges.

Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) joined the senator’s Restoring Law and Order Act, which was reintroduced in May. The bill would authorize new grant funding for local law enforcement to hire and retain officers, combat child trafficking, and emphasize “public safety tools like bail and pretrial detention” to disallow accused criminals the opportunity to commit additional offenses.

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Group Plans to Sue If Georgia Governor Signs Bill to Expand Cash Bail

The Center Square

The ACLU of Georgia said it would sue the state if Gov. Brian Kemp signs into law a measure that expands the number of offenses for which suspects must “post bail or surety.”

State Sen. Randy Robertson, R-Cataula, introduced Senate Bill 63 in January 2023, but lawmakers did not advance the measure before last year’s session ended. However, both the state House and Senate signed off on the measure this year.

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Minnesota Freedom Fund to Lobby Lawmakers for End to Cash Bail

Admin

Members of the controversial Minnesota Freedom Fund (MFF) have announced the launch of a sister organization that will lobby for legislation and endorse political candidates to help end the state’s cash bail system.

In a Tuesday livestream, four high-ranking members of Minnesota Freedom Fund Action (MFF Action) explained the purpose of the new advocacy group, doubling down on their opposition to pre-trial detention and the current immigration detention system.

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Ohio Legislation to Add Public Safety, More Cash Bail Passes Committee

The Center Square

A push to have Ohio judges consider public safety when setting bail took a step forward when the House Criminal Justice Committee advanced legislation supported by prosecutor and business groups across the state.

House Bill 607 adds the risk of public safety into bail consideration in direct response to an Ohio Supreme Court decision in Debuse v. McGuffey, a ruling that upheld an appellate court’s decision permitting the reduction of a murder suspect’s bail without considering community safety.

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Top Players in Defund the Police Movement Back Warnock and Ossoff

Corinne Murdock

Top players leading the movement to defund the police have declared their support for Democratic Senate candidates Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff. The two candidates’ backers include Black Lives Matter, Working Families Party, Mijente, and Black to the Future.

These groups supporting Warnock and Ossoff claim that systemic racism exists, and that police are a major component of it. They advocate for limiting police interaction and diverting funding from police into other programs, such as mental health assistance. 

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Commonwealth’s Attorney Stephanie Morales Joins Political Organization to Defund the Police and Shrink the Justice System

Corinne Murdock

Commonwealth’s Attorney Stephanie Morales is on the steering committee of “Our Black Party,” a political organization to defund the police. Morales has stated explicitly that she wants to defund the police and shrink the criminal justice system.
The Code of Virginia states that Commonwealth’s Attorneys are “a part of the department of law enforcement of the county or city in which [s]he is elected or appointed.” It is unclear whether Morales’s leadership within Our Black Party conflicts with her duties as a Commonwealth attorney.

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