After the Massachusetts Bail Fund last month signaled they would post the initial bail amounts set in a handful of cases by Suffolk County District Attorney Rachael Rollins' office, prosecutors filed motions to significantly increase the amount.
Rollins told Boston Public Radio on Thursday her office needs to "get it right the first time" when it comes to holding dangerousness hearings, instead of requesting high bail for defendants they believe should be held before trial.
Rollins said Thursday that once she personally found out about the request to increase bail in at least one case, she rescinded that motion.
"We are not going to operate that way," she said. "If we missed the opportunity, or chose not to move for dangerousness ... we need to get it right the first time. I've made it clear to my staff, I don't want to hear anything about somebody being a danger to society and we didn't move for dangerousness, and ask for bail, and then the Bail Fund comes in and bails them out."
Dangerousness hearings can only be requested by prosecutors at the first appearance of a defendant in court. With the exception of prosecutors in Essex and Bristol counties, The Boston Globe reported that state data shows most district attorneys in the state have not consistently asked for dangerousness hearings, instead relying on setting bail so high that a defendant cannot pay. The nonprofit Massachusetts Bail Fund recently posted bail for a convicted rapist who has since been charged with another sexual assault, defending that action by proclaiming they are against any and all pretrial detention.
"The bail fund has every single right to exist," said Rollins. "They shouldn't have to. If the system is working correctly, only the dangerous peope are held."
Rollins said she is "100 percent in support" of a push by the Baker administration to reform the bail statute to make it easier for prosecutors to hold people in jail without bail before trial.
During her segment on Boston Public Radio, Rollins also commented on the recent indictment in Louisville, Ky., regarding Breonna Taylor's killing, and took calls from listeners.
