Bail reform repeal passes Utah Legislature just months after kicking in
Reforms were meant to stop kicking defendants locked up before trial simply because they couldn’t afford bail. Prosecutors say the new system has worked.
(Francisco Kjolseth | Tribune file photo) Salt Lake County Jail on Friday, March 20, 2020.
| March 3, 2021, 11:36 p.m.
A Utah bill that would dismantle key pieces of last year’s bail reform package is heading to the governor’s desk, with several state senators on Wednesday signing off on the proposal despite their reservations.
State legislators have spent weeks wrestling over whether to repeal or modify the 2020 law that sought to overhaul Utah’s wealth-based system for jailing or freeing people ahead of their trial. Now, they’re moving forward with a hybrid approach that retains some aspects of last year’s law, scraps others and proponents say sets the state up to continue improving the law in the months to come.
Joshua Knowles said he feels like a thousand-pound weight has been lifted from him, after more than four years of waiting for his day in court.
That day that week, actually resulted Friday in a verdict of not guilty on charges of first-degree rape, first-degree sodomy and second-degree theft. I m ready to move on, Knowles said. I m ready to get on with the rest of my life without this.
Knowles, 32, was charged after an allegation was made against him in December 2016. He was arrested and spent about two months in jail before defense attorney Randy Phillips succeeded in getting his bond reduced from $60,000.
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