When you’re in jail your freedoms are restricted, and meeting with individuals who can help with your case is at the discretion of the jail and its visiting hours. Jail is stressful, sometimes dangerous, and being incarcerated even briefly can cause conditions such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Sometimes staying in jail doesn’t just affect you, but your family and loved ones, especially if they’re elderly, sick, or young, and rely on you for their care and well-being. A bail bond ensures you can be released quickly and get back to the people you care about most.
What Is Bail?
It is the amount of money that the court decides you must pay to be released from jail while you await trial. Depending on the severity of the crime committed, bail can range from several thousands of dollars up to millions.
After a verdict has been reached and the case is over, the amount paid for bail is given back to the defendant. But what happens if you can’t raise it in the first place? You could be stuck in a cell, sometimes for years, as you await trial.
How Do Bail Bonds Help?
By paying a small fee to a bail bondsman, they will provide the court with the money necessary to get you released on bail. The typical bail bond premium Arkansas you have to pay is just 10% of the total amount assigned to your case.
After a verdict is reached, the bail bondsman gets their money back, and they keep the fee you paid them to loan the money. Some bail bonds require collateral, such as a house, car, electronics—anything that can help cover the cost the bail bondsman paid if you do not show up to trial, and therefore forfeit the refund.
Being arrested and charged with a crime can feel like a hopeless nightmare. But by bringing you home, a bail bond may help alleviate some of the stress and put you in a better mindset to assess your needs and plan for the future.