Santa Fe, NM - Today, Reps. Nate Gentry, David Adkins and Antonio "Moe" Maestas, along with Sen. Peter Wirth, announced a bipartisan compromise on bail bond reform. The compromise resolution grants judges the authority to deny bail to violent offenders who cannot be safely released back into the community. The compromise also contains a provision to allow judges to release non-violent defendants who are not a flight risk if they cannot afford bail.

"I'm happy that we could come to an agreement on this important piece of legislation," Gentry said. "SJR 1 will protect our communities from proven threats to public safety, by allowing judges keep violent defendants in jail pending trial. It will also allow defendants who are in jail only because they cannot afford to post bond the ability to be released, reducing costs for counties and municipalities."

"It's critical that judges have the ability to keep the worst of the worst in jail and away from the public," Adkins said. "I'm confident that we will get this passed through the House and sent back to the Senate for concurrence. This is the right piece of legislation to support."

Under current law, judges are required to grant reasonable bail to every defendant, even if the defendant presents a known risk to the community. Recently, Albuquerque police arrested Rufus Phelps, a convicted felon with a violent criminal history. After being booked on a charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm, Phelps was able to post a $1000 bond and was released in less than 24 hours. He then skipped a court hearing a few days later. Passage of the compromise resolution will give judges the power to keep violent career criminals like Phelps in jail pending trial.

The compromise legislation will allow non-violent defendants who are not a flight risk to petition the court for relief if they cannot afford bail. Currently, 38 percent of inmates in the Albuquerque-Bernalillo County Metro Detention Center (MDC) are there solely because they cannot afford bail. Given that it costs $125 per day to house an inmate, the MDC is spending $64,125 per day on these defendants as they await trial. According to officials, 11 percent of those inmates cannot afford to post bonds as low as $100.

Bail bond reform is supported by the New Mexico District Attorneys Association, the New Mexico Association of Counties and the Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce. This solution crafted by Gentry, Adkins, Maestas and Wirth will both protect New Mexicans and save the state money on defendants who are held for being too poor to post bail.