MADISON, WI (WSAU) – On Wednesday, Gov. Tony Evers signed into law a bill supported by Republicans that specifies when a recently enacted state constitutional amendment will make it more difficult for defendants to be released on bail.
The constitutional amendment was approved during Tuesday’s statewide election, when a pair of bail related ballot questions received two-thirds of the vote. The amendment allows judges to take prior convictions for violent crimes into account when determining bail for someone accused of a violent crime. It also allows judges to set release conditions in order to protect the public from serious harm.
For the purposes of the amendment, the bill Evers signed on Wednesday defines serious harm and violent crime. Judges will be able to impose stricter release conditions on any defendant they believe could physically or emotionally harm someone or cause more than $2,500 in damages while on release under the broad definition of serious harm.
Evers has urged the Republican-led Legislature to enact additional criminal justice reforms and to use the state’s historic budget surplus to fund additional public safety initiatives.
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