How "the justice system" failed (killed) 4 cops

Four days in May set stage for Sunday's tragedy

Excerpt:

May 10th:

After spending one night in jail, Clemmons caught a break.

May 10 was a Sunday, Mother's Day. Judges rarely work Sundays — but bail-bond agents do.

Pierce County has devised a system that allows people to post bond without ever facing a judge, if it happens to be a holiday or a weekend.

Called "booking bail," this system works according to a hard-and-fast formula. Clemmons was booked on four felony charges — two for assault, two for malicious mischief — and, by schedule, his booking bail was set at $10,000 per charge, for a total of $40,000.

"If you post booking bail, you can walk out without seeing a judge. And that appears to be exactly what he did," said Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Lindquist. "When it's booking bail, it doesn't take into account particular details like somebody's history. And that's problematic ... it's one of the dangers of booking bail."

If his history had been taken into account, Clemmons would have fared poorly. He had a criminal record dating to his teen years, with at least five prior felony convictions in Arkansas.

Aladdin Bail Bonds posted Clemmons' bond on Mother's Day, and Clemmons walked free. Defendants typically pay 10 percent of the bond, with the bonding company on the hook for the rest.

Stephen Kreimer, executive director of the Professional Bail Agents of the United States, said he doesn't think "booking bail" is common nationwide. In most states, he said, defendants must wait until they've seen a magistrate or court representative before being released on bail.

Comment: I don't know what Huckabee was thinking but this guy should have never been released from an Arkansas prison! Read the whole article. Many missteps along the way that lead up to the police killings!