Nancy's Bail Bonds in Mount Holly, was among several bail agents and bounty hunters who attended the town hall. "When you mess with the Constitution - it's like tugging on Superman's cape - someone is going to get hurt. So the poor could come with $100 on a $10,000 bond and get out," Chapman said. Let's make a profession that will charge 10 percent. "Our forefathers saw that some of these guys might not be able to afford that (bail). "We need to bring accountability back to the system."Ĭhristie has argued that the bail bonds industry has profited on the backs of poor defendants, but Chapman argued that the system was created so that the poor could be released without excessive bail. "The folks who brought criminal justice reform to New Jersey sold you a false bill of goods. The event attracted bounty hunters and bail agents from across New Jersey and several nearby states, including Michelle Esquenazi, chair of the New York State Association of Bail Bonds Agents.Īlso participating in the event was Michael Donovan, head of Nexus Services, a Virginia company that specializes in criminal justice services. "I check on my people every day," he told the several dozen gathered Sunday at the church town hall. And anytime the government tries to take over a private industry, it's a grave concern to the entire country."ĭuane Chapman, who has worked four decades as a bounty hunter, said he and others in his industry have the expertise and motivation to keep track of the defendants they post bail for.
"I've been inundated with phone calls from people in this profession who have basically been put of business by government. "This is a gun-toting criminal who should not be on our streets without some type of supervision, and the supervision of pretrial release is basically none," she said. She cited the man suspected of killing Rogers' son. "They would have went and picked his butt up and my son would still be here today."īeth Chapman, who was elected president of the National Bail Agents Association last February, said the problem with New Jersey's reform law was that it handed responsibility for supervising suspected criminals to court employees rather than experienced bail agents. "Had they given (her son's suspected killer) some type of bond, knowing our bondsman, he would have had some kind of supervision," Rogers said. Rogers, who appeared at the town hall with the Chapmans, said she believed her son would still be alive if not for the state's bail reform. His suspected killer, Jules Black, had been arrested four days earlier on a gun possession charge, but was released without bail under New Jersey's new system. The celebrity bounty hunters also highlighted the plight of June Rogers, of Millville, whose son was shot and killed in April in Vineland. "This is a politically held prisoner under the new New Jersey bail law."
"The guy is in jail for nothing and he's being held like Al Capone," he said.
He is currently engaged in a hunger strike to protest his inability to post bail.ĭuring Sunday's town hall, Chapman said he recently spoke to Forchion via phone in jail and considered him to be a "political prisoner."
#FAMOUS BOUNTY HUNTERS TRIAL#
The pair cited the case of Pemberton Township native Ed Forchion, better known as NJWeedman, who has been held in Mercer County jail since March while awaiting trial for charges of witness tampering.
#FAMOUS BOUNTY HUNTERS SERIES#
The Chapmans, who appeared together on the reality television series "Dog the Bounty Hunter" for eight seasons on A&E and for three seasons on CMT's "Dog and Beth: On the Hunt", argue that it hasn't worked as intended and that dangerous criminals are being released to commit new crimes and that some petty offenders are being forced to remain jailed for lengthy periods because posting bail isn't an option. Conversely, they argue it allows judges to keep dangerous defendants in custody until trial. Chris Christie, say it ensures that people accused of nonviolent or petty crimes aren't detained behind bars for lengthy periods simply because they don't have the money to post bail. Supporters of the new system, including Gov.
0 kommentar(er)
