“In the last six months, the Worcester County Jail had two inmates who were charged with child rape with bail set at $500”
Two other inmates were charged with cocaine and fentanyl trafficking with bails of $500 and $4,000. Both of them were wanted by ICE and bailed out before ICE arrived.
“Most people would not think that’s an appropriate bail,” Evangelidis said.
How bail is set
Stephen Roth, a criminal defense and immigration attorney, says these bails are set by judges to reasonably assure someone reappears in court, not to ensure someone remains in custody.
“There’s this list of criteria that they go through to determine if bail should be set and immigration status is not one of those categories,” Roth said.
