San Angelo, Texas—4/30/22: Opponents of the cash bail that’s in place in the US criminal justice system have long argued that the process is unjust and dehumanizing to certain groups of people, often leaving them with no choice but to plead guilty instead of remaining detained long-term as they await their trials. Fundamentally, the bail system is for-profit and hurts those individuals in particular who commit less severe crimes but face incarceration anyway simply because they cannot afford their bail money.
Meanwhile, wealthy defendants arrested for the same crimes or worse manage to walk away free simply because they hail from an affluent social class. Judges, when deciding an amount of bail, scarcely take into account the defendant’s ability to pay. They also give no regard to how the criminal justice system disproportionately affects people of color, who are over-policed and deal with a higher concentration of arrests within their communities than their white counterparts.
Taking notice of all the systemic inadequacies in the cash bail system, Freedom Libertad in San Angelo has committed to helping San Angelo’s vulnerable people financially. For over ten years, the agency has been offering them an easy means out of prison. Instead of paying the bail amount in full, which can often total up to thousands of dollars, incarcerated people have an option to purchase a surety bond from the bail bondsmen at Freedom Libertad at only a fraction of the original bail sum.
“Through our bail bonds service, people facing unjust detainment have a way out even if they are not financially in a position to immediately access large sums of money at the time of their arrest. We understand the shortcomings in our country’s justice system very well and hope to bridge the gaps wherever we can,” a representative of Freedom Libertad stated.
Often as a result of being locked up for an indefinite period, people end up losing their jobs and their housing due to missed rent payments, and above all, are unable to be with their loved ones during the distressing time. Freedom Libertad hopes to prevent such circumstances from developing as best as they can via a speedy release of unduly detained individuals.
About Freedom Libertad Bail Bonds
Ricky Villarreal has spearheaded his bail bonds agency for over a decade, all in the spirit of giving back to the community. The agency’s work features several services in San Angelo, Texas, including financial assistance through bail and immigration bonds and a streamlined notarization of documents for people looking to authenticate important paperwork.