Amendment to deny bail to some offenders moves closer to November ballot

Hoosiers could vote this year on whether to allow judges to deny some potentially dangerous offenders bail under a constitutional amendment moving through the statehouse. 

Under current Indiana law, people can only be denied bail if they are charged with murder or treason and there is strong evidence against them. 

The amendment would allow judges to deny people bail if they pose a substantial risk to the public. The bill was introduced in the Senate and is now being considered by the House. 

Bill author Sen. Eric Koch (R-Bedford) said if the amendment passes out of the legislature, Hoosiers will vote on the issue in November. 

“If adopted, Indiana would join the 31 other states in recognizing that there are times when it is simply too dangerous to public safety to release a defendant before trial under bail or any other conditions,” he said. 

The constitutional amendment is required to pass the general assembly twice before going to voters. The amendment was first passed out of the general assembly in 2023.

Samantha Bresnahan is with the ACLU of Indiana, which opposes the measure. She said detention can have lasting consequences for people's lives. 

“It can cost someone their job, their housing, and even custody of their children. Even when charges are dismissed or a person is found not guilty these harms cannot be undone,” she said. 

Others, like Zach Stock with the Indiana Public Defender Council, raised concerns about jail overcrowding and the loss of a presumption of innocence. 

“We know that detaining someone before trial based on predicted future risk, rather than adjudicated guilt, requires extraordinary care,” he said. 

Stock also noted that a presentation to a summer study committee included data showing arrestees were not driving violent crimes. It found that more than 99% of assessed pretrial defendants did not commit a new violent crime. 

He ended his testimony by calling for lawmakers to consider cashless bail as an option, if the voters ultimately choose to approve a system where judges can deny bail altogether. 

“If we give the state the power to preventively detain people that we think are dangerous, we do not have much reason to impose cash bail on everybody else, certainly not significant amounts of cash bail,” Stock said. 

Lawmakers also approved ballot language around the amendment that voters will see in November, if the constitutional change passes through the legislature. 

Ballot approval language does not need to be created by lawmakers, but if it isn’t, the language of the ballot amendment is drafted by the Secretary of State’s office. 

Sen. Koch urged lawmakers to approve his ballot language.

Contact Government Reporter Benjamin Thorp at bthorp@wfyi.org