7 Reasons You Should Bond Yourself Out Of Jail
If you are wondering whether you should just stay in jail until your trial, there are seven reasons why it may be a better idea to bond or bail yourself out as soon as you can.
1. Even if you could get credit for time served, it might be a waste.
Jail overcrowding may be a factor that could cause the prosecutor to ask for a different punishment like fines or probation or they may even drop the charges, so your prolonged stay in there could be in vain.
2. Conditions may not be as good before sentencing.
While you are in jail before receiving a sentence, conditions could be more strict than they would be if you waited.
You may be denied:
- Access to the exercise room,
- Opportunities to visit the law library, or
- Work opportunities and other privileges.
3. The more time you spend in jail can increase the chance that you may talk too much and cause a couple of problems for yourself.
If you lapse into getting somewhat friendly and comfortable with the guards, you might make incriminating statements unintentionally and these could be used at against you at trial. If you talk to other inmates, they may be able to use what information you give them to bargain for a lighter sentence for themselves in exchange for testifying about what you said.
Also, if you talk and get too friendly with other inmates, you may also inadvertently give them too much personal information such as where you live or what your family is like. You could live to regret this when they show up at your front door or break into your house. You can't forget that while you may be trustworthy and innocent of the crime you are accused of or your crime is not very serious, the other people in the jail might be in there for good reasons. Your sympathy or affinity for them might be misplaced.
4. "Delayed justice is justice" as defense attorneys are found of saying.
When you are out, the chances of your case may get delayed and postponed several times are much greater.
Now how is this an advantage, you might ask. Well, this means prosecution witnesses can become unavailable, evidence could be misplaced, and the case become stale. So this also means the chances that your charges could be reduced or dropped begins to improve.
5. Being out could give you opportunities to better yourself.
While you're out, you could use this time to do some positive things that would make a difference on how the judge would sentence you. There is also the possibility that your efforts in this regard may influence the prosecutor to drop the charges or lower them and recommend a light sentence or probation. You might go into inpatient drug rehab for a month or more, pay restitution to your victim, or obtain regular employment and any of these things will could help your standing with the judge.
6. You would be able to get your affairs in order if there is a possibility of a long prison sentence in your future.
You could visit family members, make arrangements for someone's care, make financial arrangements to help your dependents, and more to make your incarceration time easier to bear.
7. You can also use the time on the outside to work on your case.
There are a variety of things you could do to help your case such as: visiting the local law library and doing research about your charges, locating evidence that could be helpful in proving your innocence, or finding and hiring a lawyer to represent you. An criminal law attorney, such as Kirsten Swanson Atty, would guide you in these endeavors and prepare strategies to defend you at trial.