Dozens of additional offenses will soon require cash bail in Georgia. Governor Brian Kemp signed legislation Wednesday which requires cash bail for 30 additional crimes. The measure also restricts people and charitable bail funds from posting cash bonds for more than three people a year unless they meet the requirements to become a bail bond company.
Senate Bill 63 erodes changes that Republican Governor Nathan Deal supported to allow judges to release many accused of misdemeanors without bail. The law takes effect July 1st.
Mokah Jasmine Johnson is President and Co-founder of the Athens Anti-Discrimination Movement. The nonprofit regularly holds bailouts, or events when they bail multiple people out of jail, in Clarke County. She discussed how the law will impact those efforts and prevent the AADM from helping families free loved ones.
