BRUH! If you’re gonna commit a crime….maybe DON’T do it while you’re ALREADY IN THE JAIL?!?!
When deputies were responding to reports of a stolen car in Maine, they ended up stopping a man nearby. While it was determined that he had no connection to the stolen car, he was arrested for an outstanding warrant for theft from Walmart.
The man told officers he had enough money to pay the $200 bail, but then the bail commissioner arrived, the man tried to pay with two COUNTERFEIT $100 bills. In addition to being returned to jail, he was also given an extra charge of forgery, or illegal copying of a document or banknote (money).
Bail is a hot topic within the criminal justice community because a lot of times, the people accused of crime are already suffering from extreme poverty. After they’ve been charged for a crime they’ve been accused of committing, they are basically punished before they are found guilty of anything since they end up staying in jail as a result of not being able to pay bail (to be fair, in this case the charge was for attempting to pay bail with counterfeit money which is pretty dang criminal). The cost of bail keeps the cycle of crime and poverty going (if you’re stuck in jail and you have a job to be at but can’t afford the bail, you can lose your job)! Still, there needs to be a way to hold defendants in criminal cases accountable to make sure that they show up to their court dates.
——
Questions:
Be sure to provide full explanations for each of your answers. For more details, you can read the article this piece was sourced from here:
https://www.heraldstandard.com/news/state/sheriff-man-tried-to-pay-200-bail-with-counterfeit-bills/article_d4892b96-dbc1-558a-9cc5-19b3fef69bda.html
—
Contributed by: Marlee Carpenter
Thank you for letting us experience court for the first time. It was the best experience ever, thank you for everything. You really made me think about being a judge. Thank you
-Mina L [ Twitchell Elementary - Grade 5]
Thank you for letting us watch the civil case! It was cool because it was a real case and not one played out. I had a lot of fun watching the other kids act out a session. Thank you for your time.
- Kaylie [Hewetson Elementary - Grade 5]
My favorite part of the fieldtrip to the courthouse is when I got to play the part of Ron. I got to go on the witness chair and speaking. I helped Potter to be not guilty. Thank you for the great opportunity.
