Journal of Student Research 2018

63 Alabama’s Pretrial Criminal Process: Structural Violence Within the Bail Bond Industry

Alabama Bail Schedule Felonies: Capital felony

$50,000 to No Bail Allowed

Murder

$15,000 to $75,000 $10,000 to $60,000 $5,000 to $30,000 $2,500 to $15,000 $5,000 to $1,500,000

Class A felony Class B felony Class C felony

Drug manufacturing and trafficking

Misdemeanors (not included elsewhere in the schedule) : Class A misdemeanor

$300 to $6,000 $300 to $3,000 $300 to $1,000 $300 to $500 $300 to $1,000

Class B misdemeanor Class C misdemeanor

Violation

Municipal Ordinance Violations

Traffic Related Offenses: DUI

$1,000 to $7,500 $300 to $1,000

Reckless driving

Speeding

$300 to $500 $300 to $500

Other traffic violations

In Alabama, non-violent drug-related crimes have bail set by judges ranging from $5,000 to $1,500,000; this is much unlike a violent crime—such as murder—which is set at $15,000 to $75,000 (Alabama Rules of Judicial Administration, Rule 7). Equal Justice Initiative notes that “Alabama law equates the possession of more than 2.2 pounds of marijuana with the most extreme violent crimes, including capital murder and terrorism,” meaning one could be provided no bail and be sentenced up to life in prison for marijuana possession (“EJI Will Challenge,” 2016). But if bail is set to ensure that individuals will attend trial, it is important to note that those who have committed violent crimes with greater expected penalties are more likely to flee before trial and are also a greater risk to the public than those who have committed a non-violent drug offense (Sigler & Formby, 1978). Thus, bail settings should be greater for violent crime offenders. Unfortunately, that is not often the case in Alabama. For example, seventy-five-year-old Alabama resident, Lee Carroll Brooker, was sentenced to life in prison for possession of less than three pounds of marijuana in addition to having a prior conviction (“EJI Will Challenge,” 2016). Alabama’s own Supreme Court Chief Justice, Roy Moore, stated that the sentence was “excessive and unjustified” (Hansen, 2016). It is difficult to understand why citizens who murder another human can get bail for $75,000, while someone who is caught with three pounds of marijuana can get sentenced to die in prison without access to bail. Unfortunately, the court system in Alabama has not reviewed his case at this point (Hansen, 2016). Similarly, with such high bail settings, lower income populations are disproportionately affected along with the disabled, mentally ill people, and African Americans and Latino/as. According to the Pretrial Racial Justice