Mandela Barnes Tried to Eliminate Cash Bail

According to a recent report from Fox 6 News, “one out of every five suspects charged with killing – or trying to kill – someone else in Milwaukee County so far this year was already out on bond for another felony crime. And more than half of those pending cases were violent.”

This comes as Wisconsin’s leading Democrat Senate candidate, Mandela Barnes, proposed a bill during his time as a Wisconsin state legislator that would have eliminated cash bail. 

Washington Free Beacon: “Fond du Lac County district attorney Eric Toney said Barnes’s proposal would erode the ability of prosecutors to keep dangerous people in custody.

“‘These liberal proposals take tools away from prosecutors and allow dangerous criminals to remain free, making Wisconsin more dangerous,’ Toney, who is running for attorney general, told the Washington Free Beacon. ‘Violent criminals must be kept behind bars, period.’”

After an “inappropriately low” bail allowed Darrell Brooks to get out of jail days before he was accused of plowing into the crowd at the Waukesha Christmas Parade, Fox 6 News decided to dig into the number of Wisconsin homicide suspects already on bond. What they discovered was alarming.

Fox 6 News: “Through Dec. 10 of this year, [Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm’s] office charged 117 people with homicide or attempted homicide. A FOX6 investigation found 25 of those 117 defendants were already free on a bail bond for a pending felony. That is roughly one out of every five.”

One of the most troubling examples is Dequan McMillon – who “was charged in 2019 with running from police while in possession of cocaine, meth, and a gun.” He received a signature bond and was released from jail without having to pay anything. 

Then, in November 2020 while still out on the 2019 bail bond, McMillon “punched the mother of his children in the face, pulled her hair, and choked her until she blacked out.” His bail was set for $250, which a relative posted, and once again, McMillion was released.

Fox 6 News: “With both the 2019 and 2020 felony cases still pending, police say McMillon struck again on June 13, 2021. This time, he’s accused of shooting 23-year-old Brittany Meyer to death – the same woman he was charged with strangling and brutalizing seven months earlier.”

Bottom line: If Mandela Barnes had things his way, more violent criminals would be released from jail making Wisconsin more dangerous for hard-working families.