A Florida man walked into a Fall River bank last summer, handed the teller a note that said “I have a bomb,” and walked out with $5,000. He got caught the same day with dye on his hands and stolen cash in his pocket. Open and shut.
But before his case was resolved, a legal question made it all the way to the state’s highest court: could prosecutors hold him without bail as a danger to the public?
The Supreme Judicial Court said no. Armed robbery, the justices ruled on March 10, doesn’t count as a violent enough crime to lock someone up before trial.
Read that again. Armed robbery. Not violent enough. …
Under Massachusetts law, there’s a tool called Section 58A that lets prosecutors ask a judge to hold someone for up to 120 days with no bail at all — no ankle monitor, no conditions, just locked up. It’s the strongest card a DA can play to keep a dangerous person off the street before trial.
The SJC just took that card away for armed robbery.
— Mass Daily News in Massachusetts DAs can no longer hold armed robbers before trial — the state’s highest court ruled it’s not violent enough