Hundreds of people in Spokane County, Washington, who were accused of violent crimes have been released from jail without posting bail, a new report shows.
According to the The Spokesman-Review, records show that people accused of violent crimes, including rape, molesting children, making death threats, vehicular homicide and assaults were set free “on their promise to behave and show up to court when summoned.”
Reportedly, this has occurred 665 times in the county from Jan. 1, 2021, to Set. 30. Some of those released from jail allegedly committed violent crimes after (The Spokesman-Review):
Nathan Nash, the ex-Spokane police officer who raped two women after using his badge to gain their trust, spent years awaiting trial not from the confines of a jail cell, but in his own home. He did not have to post bail.
Jordan Knippling walked out of the Spokane County Jail without a judge setting bail after he was accused of punching a nurse at MultiCare Valley Hospital and throwing medical equipment. A year later, while out of jail on his own recognizance, prosecutors allege he killed a man at a homeless camp.
Daniel Silva is accused of slashing a Fred Meyer co-worker’s face with a handsaw. He was released from jail without bond the same day.
The outlet noted that the data provided by the country does not include the names of the offenders. In addition, it does not include the outcomes of their cases, their race, gender, age, or economic status. It only represents the most serious charge leveled against each offender.
County Commissioner Al French called the statistics “alarming” and said they are “assessing how to respond.”
“Some judges are good at protecting,” French added. “Some are not.”
Spokane County Superior Court Judge Julie McKay explained that “the presumption when they hit jail is that they are going to go right back out.”
“From there, you are looking at an analysis of if you’re going to hold somebody, then you have to be able to hold them saying they are going to fail to come to court or they are at risk of committing a violent offense. Or, they’re at risk of interfering with witnesses, tampering with witnesses or interfering with the administration of justice that we do,” McKay added. “Then from there, we’re looking at various things. For instance, criminal history, mental health history if it’s available. How old their criminal history is, what the actual facts of the case are, whether it is what would be considered a violent crime.”
The report noted that judges have released people accused of crimes against children and family members (The Spokesman-Review):
Since the start of 2021, there have been 33 times defendants arrested on accusations of rape were released without having to post bail. Among those cases, 19 involved a child. An additional 24 were accused of child molestation. In each case, the defendant was released from jail on their own recognizance.
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Among defendants accused of any felony crime in that 33-month period, including nonviolent ones, 2,704 were let out of jail without having to post bail. Of those, 235 were accused of the most serious crimes, class A felonies, which could potentially result in lifetime prison sentences.
Those accused of class B felonies, punishable by up to 10 years in prison, were released 1,361 times without having to post bail. Those arrested on class C felonies, punishable by up to five years in prison, were released 1,108 times without having to post bail.
Sixteen no-bail releases included a domestic violence flag, which signals the victim was likely a spouse or family member.
McKay said that “you could have a situation where this person is alleged to have committed a rape or an offense against a child, something of that nature, and they have no criminal history. You have no history to show that they won’t come to court. You have no history to show that they’re going to interfere with witnesses, but what you do have is pretty heinous crime.”
“It comes from our constitutional belief and theory that everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty. And that’s a really hard thing to remember when you are the victim of a crime,” she added.
Spokane Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Preston McCollam explained that crime victims feel like the system has failed them.
“If somebody gets released in the domestic violence realm, often you start seeing an increase in additional repetitive domestic violence offenses,” McCollam said. “I’ve had cases where somebody is arrested and then they get arrested again the next day.”
Earlier this year, Townhall reported how one state, Illinois, decided to do away with cash bail entirely. Predictably, many lawmakers and members of the community pushed back against this. Illinois’ House Republican Leader Tony McCombie released a statement, explaining that “The end of cash bail means the legal deck is stacked against the victim and community in favor of the criminal.”
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