Bail has been around for centuries, it has even been stated that the idea of bail has been traced to Ancient Rome. The American government adopted the idea of bail from the English. The English magistrate would place prisoners with private parties, and to ensure that these custodians did their duty, they would have to sign a bond, stating if they failed to produce the prisoners on the trial date, they would forfeit a specified sum of money or property. In the American government bail is a system of pretrial release of the accused in a criminal proceeding based on a guarantee by the accused or by bail bond agents that the accused will appear in court as required. Bail has numerous options such as denial of bail, bail bond agents and alternative …show more content…
Release on recognition is to secure the pretrial release of the accused based merely on the defendant’s unsecured promise to appear at trial. This option is only open to defendants who are nonviolent offenders, has ties to the community and is not a flight risk (Fagin). “An unsecured bond releases the defendant from incarceration based on his or her signing a promissory note agreeing to pay the court an amount similar to a cash bond is he or she fails to fulfill the promise to appear at trial” (Fagin). Another option that lets a defendant be released on their own signature is called a signature bond (Fagin). A signature bond releases the defendant on his or her signature on a promise to appear in court. Although signature bonds on only used for minor offenses (Fagin). Conditional releases is another alternative to cash bonds. Conditional releases is when a defendant from custody if he or she agrees to court-ordered terms and restrictions. Some of those restrictions may be participating in drug or alcohol treatment programs, attend anger management classes, compliance with a restraining order and regular employment (Fagin). Some issues with the bail system is the concept of excessive bail is not specific enough which leaves it very open to