Bond reform bill reaches governor’s desk in South Carolina

COLUMBIA, S.C. — A bill related to bond reform is on the governor’s desk in South Carolina.

Channel 9′s Glenn Counts delved into the proposal and why Governor Henry McMaster isn’t completely on board.

The bill would make it much more difficult for suspects who are accused of a violent crime to get another bond if they re-offend.

The consequence of re-offending would result in the accused having to pay the full bond, not just a bondman’s fee, which is considerably less.

While McMaster supports parts of the bill, he believes it doesn’t go far enough. He wants to add an extra five years to those who qualify.

In a tweet, McMaster expressed his concerns saying: “The General Assembly did not close the revolving door for criminals.”

Channel 9 spoke with resident Ashely Maier about the bill. She said she was not sure if an extra 5 years would make a difference.

“I guess I would have mixed feelings about it I guess it depends on the crime. You have to take into consideration each individual case and kind of go from there. I don’t think everybody should be clumped into one category,” Maier explained.

However, resident Christian Carney feels differently and supports McMasters point of view.

“I truly believe people don’t care about the consequences. So just to make everybody else safer in this community, at least give us some type of validation or some type of security. So that we know they are not gonna be back on the streets again soon,” Carney told Channel 9.

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