Holcomb signs Indiana bill to stop nonprofits from bailing out violent offenders

(The Center Square) – Suspects charged with a violent crime or felony and have a previous violent crime conviction will no longer be able to bailed by out by charitable bail organizations in Indiana after Gov. Eric Holcomb signed a new bill into law this week.

The bill was part of a package of crime bills introduced in the Indiana General Assembly this year to address the record-high violent crime in Indianapolis, where legislators work for several months out of the year.

Charitable bail organizations like The Bail Project will no longer be able to bail out anyone charged with a violent crime or any felony if they have a prior conviction for a violent crime, including murder, manslaughter, homicide, battery, domestic battery, kidnapping, child molestation, robbery, burglary, resisting law enforcement and unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon.

The new law also requires charitable bail organizations enter into an agreement before paying bail, allowing the court to keep all or part of the bail if the person is convicted to pay for the costs of legal representation, fines, court costs, fees and restitution.

It also requires organizations that bail out more than three people in a six-month period be certified by the Indiana Department of Insurance and pay a $300 fee every two years.

The law went into effect immediately after it was signed Tuesday.

The Bail Project, a nonprofit that describes itself as an organization that “combats mass incarceration by disrupting the money bail system” was found to have bailed out several people with a record of violent crime who, after they were bailed out, allegedly committed other violent crimes.

In one case, it bailed out alleged drug dealer Travis Lang after he was arrested for possession of cocaine. Several months later, Lang allegedly shot and killed 24-year-old Dylan McGinnis while he sat in a car.

In another case, Marcus Garvin was bailed out by The Bail Project after he was arrested for allegedly stabbing another man at a Circle K gas station, and seven months later, he allegedly murdered his longtime girlfriend, Christie Holt.

In a third case, The Bail Project bailed out 20-year-old Deonta Williams, who allegedly lured police to his home and then attacked two officers with a knife, stabbing them repeatedly.

The law was authored by Rep. Peggy Mayfield, R-Martinsville, and sponsored in the Senate by Sen. Aaron Freeman, R-Indianapolis. It was opposed by Democratic legislators from Indianapolis, in particular Sen. Greg Taylor, D-Indianapolis, who accused Republican legislators of “trying to break the system” and insisted that The Bail Project had provided needed services to people out on bail, including help with housing, job placement and mental health services.

In addition to the other prohibitions, the law provides for more transparency, requiring court administrators to develop a system with a searchable field that shows the name and bail agent license number, so it will be easier to see who is paying bail for which defendants.

It also prohibits the state or any city or county from posting bail for anyone or giving any money to an organization that pays bail for anyone.

In the last three years, The Bail Project received $150,000 in grant money from the city of Indianapolis, paid through a community foundation, and another $100,000 from the Indianapolis Foundation, to pay for staffing costs.

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