mr. quintez brown, a blm activist, made headlines for his alleged assassination attempt of mayoral candidate craig greenberg. his bail hearing also made headlines.
the news focused on the relatively small amount of bail required in an attempted murder case. the amount being $100,000.00. the bail hearing, however, revealed a bigger problem within the criminal justice system.
the bail hearing , which is posted on the internet, hearing went through the usual motions. there was some assessment as mr. brown’s flight risk. given his past good record, he was classified favorably for bail release.
in the hearing, however, mr. brown’s lawyer disclosed his concern over mr. brown’s mental health status. after that, the initial bail amount was set for $70,000.00. the prosecuting attorney, when asked if she agreed with the amount, appeared to wake up and ask for the amount to be raised by a whopping $30,000.00. as a result, the bail was amount was then ordered to be $100,000.00.
in the hearing, there was no substantive discussion between the parties over the “mental health” revelation. there was no request for a psychiatric assessment. there was no request that he seek mental health treatment. there was nothing done to address this concern.
mental health was the elephant in the room, and the issue was essentially ignored as far as bail. the criminal justice system was not concerned about mental issues that did not rise to the level of mental incapacity to participate in proceedings. as such, mr. brown’s mental health issues were not addressed.
the fact that mr. brown was allowed to walk out of jail without any requirement for a mental health evaluation is disconcerting. this bail proceeding reveals a broken criminal justice system.
how could a court allow someone out when there was no risk assessment made concerning his mental state. mr. brown, given his mental health status, posed a risk to himself, to others, and his alleged victim. letting him out of jail with this matter unaddressed was outrageous. again, it was mr. brown’s counsel that raised this as an issue.
fortunately, mr. brown has made a decision to seek mental health treatment. in a post bail hearing, it is reported that “mr. brown will be allowed to leave home incarceration for inpatient mental health treatment at our lady of peace hospital, according to a judge’s order saturday.” wbrd.com
this episode exposed a huge problem with the bail system. accused individuals who raise mental health issues should not bee allowed to bailed out without a mental health evaluation and recommendation.
in sum, this bail hearing highlights part of the bail system that needs to be reformed. such a reform protects all participants and the public.
be well!!
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