New Jersey defendants set free on ‘installment’ payment plans without judges or prosecutors knowing

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http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/12/01/new-jersey-defendants-are-set-free-on-bail-installment-payment-plans-without-judges-or-prosecutors-knowing/

New Jersey defendants are set free on bail ‘installment’ payment plans without judges or prosecutors knowing


Bail bond companies across from the Bergen County Jail in Hackensack advertise payment plans for defendants looking to be set free before trial.Andrew Mills/The Star-Ledger

Accused thieves, drug dealers, gun-toting criminals, even suspected killers are being freed from New Jersey lockups before trial, thanks to the growing popularity of the criminal justice system’s version of the installment plan.

Their get-out-of-jail-almost-free cards are being bankrolled by a new breed of bail bondsmen, willing to take big risks on individuals who’ve proved over and over that they’re high risks, a Star-Ledger review of court documents shows, along with interviews with law enforcement officials, judges and victims of the new bail schemes.

Some are being set free on $75-a-week payment plans, an offer too good to pass up for criminal defendants who otherwise would be spending the months leading up to trial locked away in a spartan county jail.

"$0 down payment," reads the sign in the window of Aaron Bail Bonds, beckoning inmates housed across the street at the Bergen County Jail in Hackensack.

[Trillo]

1. If banksters don't go to jail when they commit crimes ...

then why should anyone else?