To hear Washington State authorities tell it, cop killer Maurice Clemmons was entitled to bail under the state constitution, even though he was charged with child rape.
Not exactly.
According to a statement released by the Pierce County, Washington
Superior Court, accused persons are presumed to have a right to bail,
unless one of two conditions exist:
"(1) the court determines that such recognizance will not reasonably assure the accused's appearance, when required, or
(2) there is shown a likely danger that the accused:
(a) will commit a violent crime, or
(b) will seek to intimidate witnesses, or otherwise unlawfully interfere with the administration of justice."
Clemmons' long string of violent crimes, including attacking police, is
now well known. And correspondence by corrections officials makes it
clear that he was intimidating witnesses.
So then how do you convince a court that a violent, menacing and evidently
psychotic defendant is not really a threat to his 12-year old victim or
other children?
It helps if your criminal justice system treats the
rape of children in the family as a social problem, not a dangerous crime.
[DEFENSE ATTORNEY]: "The threat to the community, I don't believe we
have a problem with that... Your Honor. He has been seeing a counselor,
himself, that he would like to go back to seeing... who was actually
present last Friday for the hearing....
"He's the sole income earner for his family, as well.... His family is
here, out in the audience; his wife, aunt, brother, sister. Like I
said, he's the sole income earner..."
Email Sign-Up
The PROTECT Lobby
Our Mission
The National Association to Protect Children is a national, pro-child, anti-crime membership association. We are founded on the belief that our first and most sacred obligation as parents, citizens, and members of the human species is the protection of children from harm.
PROTECT is a bipartisan pro-child, anti-crime lobby whose sole focus is making the protection of children a top political and policy priority at the national, state and local level.
