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Bail bonds have a great history behind. It is the surety which is given by the company, agent or lawyer that the accused will be under their supervision. Like most of the components of the US legal system, bail originated in common law. Bail bonds Columbus was originally designed so that sheriffs could avoid the responsibilities associated with detaining prisoners. But bail was concerned with circumventing more than the mere financial difficulties associated with housing and feeding prisoners; sheriffs could be hanged if defendants escaped. No sheriff wanted this additional burden, so a better system had to be developed. In addition to solving the problem posed by sheriffs unwilling to forfeit their lives in the event that a prisoner escaped, the courts needed a system to deal with defendants awaiting trial. In earlier times, trials were conducted by judges who traveled "the circuit," going from town to town to hear cases and dispense justice. Defendants might be held for months between their arrest and initial hearings. In addition to the cost associated with such detention, it was considered unfair to detain in jail individuals who might later be acquitted. Bail was the solution to both problems. Historically, bail involved assurances by friends or family of the accused that they would ensure the defendant's appearance at trial. Like sheriffs who could be hung for allowing a defendant to escape, these "sureties" could be executed or fined if the defendant failed to appear for trial. The common law bail system was linked to an early practice in which defendants produced hostages who were executed if the defendant failed to return for trial. Not all accused persons were entitled to bail under common law. Those charged with certain offenses, such as treason, murder, and arson, were not eligible for bail. In some cases, the strength of the evidence against defendants played a role in whether they could be bailed. In manslaughter cases, for example, defendants could not be bailed if they were "clearly the slayer," but could be bailed if only "barely suspected" of the crime. Bail bonds Columbus evolved, then, from a system in which others agreed to pledge their lives to ensure that a defendant appeared for trial, into a system in which a defendant's sureties turned over money or other collateral to insure the defendant's return. It was assumed that defendants' connections to their sureties would prevent them from jumping bail, and that the sureties' risk of losing their property would influence them to properly supervise the bailees. Today it is common for professional bonds agents, who typically have only a financial interest in a defendant, to put up collateral for bail in exchange for a fee. Author Resource The Author is a professional writer, presently writing for columbus bailbonds for other information click here.
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