While several other states have abolished cash bail for criminal defendants, Massachusetts is likely to hold onto the practice, based on new recommendations from the state legislature’s special commission on bail.
State Sen. Cindy Friedman (D-Arlington), the commission co-chairperson, said more work remains to be done, and she is hoping that the legislature will renew the bail commission.
“There’s a lot of interest in looking at the whole bail magistrate [system] and how bail is delivered when it’s not delivered in court. It’s a situation I am very uncomfortable with,” she said.