The Professional Bondsmen of Texas- Blog

  U.S. senators from Kentucky and Indiana are calling for an investigation into charitable bail organizations. Sens. Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, and Mike Braun, R-Indiana, said Wednesday that they want a list of all federally funded nonprofits that bail people out of jail before their court hearings. They also want to know how much taxpayer money they receive and whether there are any existing restrictions on using federal dollars to get people charged with crimes out of jail. The call for the investigation comes just two weeks after the Louisville Community Bail Fund posted bail for Quintez Brown, the man accused of shooting at Louisville mayoral candidate Craig Greenberg. It also comes amid a push by Kentucky lawmakers to limit charitable bail organizations in the state, making a change to a bill that would make charitable bail illegal. Under the change to House Bill 313, charitable bail projects would no longer be required to report information on their donors, which was a requ...

  A bill that would restrict charitable bail organizations is headed to the Kentucky Senate after the House passed it. House Bill 313 passed by a 76-19 vote. The bill would limit the bail amount groups could post for individuals charged with crimes to $5,000. A floor amendment eliminating a provision calling for groups to name contributors ended up pulling in a few Democratic lawmakers. The legislation, which passed Tuesday in the House, gained momentum in recent weeks after The Louisville Community Bail Fund posted $100,000 to gain the release of Quintez Brown, a Louisville activist and Metro Council candidate accused of attempted murder after shooting at Louisville mayoral candidate Craig Greenberg. Neither Greenberg nor four of his staffers who were in the campaign office at the time of the alleged attack were injured, but a bullet did graze Greenberg’s clothing. The bill, however, was named Madelynn’s Law, in honor of Madelynn Troutt, a teenager who died in an automobile crash ...

  Legislation aimed at putting limits on groups that post bail for inmates gained momentum Wednesday in Kentucky’s legislature, a week after a suspected gunman’s release from jail after being charged with shooting at a Louisville mayoral candidate. The bill’s supporters said the case of Quintez Brown — who is charged with opening fire on the candidate — highlighted the need to restrict organizations that bail out inmates. Opponents asked lawmaker not to react with “a heavy hand,” saying it would result in poor people languishing in jail. The Kentucky House Judiciary Committee advanced the measure, which would limit charitable organizations to post bail only for inmates being held on bond amounts up to $5,000. “We’re not trying to outlaw these entities,” said Republican Rep. Jason Nemes, a leading sponsor of the bill. “We’re trying to say that they can’t bail people out for serious offenses.” Brown, a social justice activist running as an independent for Louisville’s metro council, ...

  Louisville Community Bail Fund members hope to collect money to cover Quintez Brown’s $100,000 full cash bond to bail him out of the Louisville Metro Department of Corrections. Brown is charged with attempted murder and four counts of wanton endangerment after police said he targeted mayoral candidate Craig Greenberg in a shooting Monday morning at his campaign office. “My ears are still ringing from the gunshots yesterday,” Greenberg said in a one-on-one interview with WAVE News’ Dawne Gee on Tuesday. A bullet grazed Greenberg’s sweater and shirt, but no one in the office at the time was hurt. On Tuesday, after Brown’s arraignment, a Community Bail Fund member posted on social media asking if they could make a donation toward paying Brown’s bail; another member responded his bail has already been “solidified.” The group claims Brown is struggling with his mental health, and LMDC is not a beneficial place for him to be because the jail doesn’t have the resources to help with ment...

  State representatives are pushing for a bill to make charitable bail illegal in Kentucky, but some organizations are pushing against it. House Bill 313 was introduced by Rep. John Blanton, R-Salyersville, and Rep. Jason Nemes, R-Louisville, on Tuesday. It would amend KRS 431.510 to make operating a charitable bail organization unlawful. In a statement to WDRB News, Nemes wrote: “The intent of the bill is to ensure that people charged with violent offenses are not bailed out by a company that does not do a proper background check and has no relation to the defendant. When a human posts bail, they are effectively vouching for that person because they are posting their own money as bail, and they are subject to losing their own money if the defendant does not show up to court or reoffends. That is not true for a company. So, this bill aims to ensure that people charged with violent crimes are not released by a company that posts their bail.” In response to the bill, Gov. Andy Beshea...

  Louisville's recent spike in violent crime has been called part of a nationwide trend. And in some cities, law enforcement officials believe there's a common factor behind part of the surge in violence. In cities like Los Angeles, Chicago and New York, police believe inmate bail is part of the problem. Right now, there's no bail reform in Kentucky, but Louisville Metro Council President David James, also a former police officer, believes it's needed to even the playing field. "I really believe in bail reform," he said. "What happens, many times, is we put people in jail with a high bail that really shouldn't be in jail at all. And we let people out of jail because they're able to afford to get out of jail, and they should actually be in jail." Krista and Navada Gwynn have a personal story to bolster the argument. In December 2019, their son Christian was shot and killed walking home from a restaurant in the Shawnee neighborhood. The 19-year...