Rep. David Welter | Facebook
Rep. David Welter | Facebook
State Rep. David Welter (R-Morris) recently talked about how House Bill 3653, the criminal justice legislation, would affect crime victims.
Welter said that by eliminating cash bail, suspects charged with violent crimes are given protections at the expense of their victims.
According to him, it is a disturbing scenario that would make the community less safe and victims more vulnerable, because under the bill, suspects “will no longer be considered a threat to the victim due to the fact that the person is dead because they killed them.”
“Consider what effect this would have on the family of the victim and the community as a whole,” Welter continued. “A family who is mourning the loss of a loved one as the result of a violent crime should not be victimized further by watching the court system be compelled to allow the predator of that crime to avoid detention due to the elimination of cash bail.”
Welter referred to a tragic incident that happened in 2019, the case of victim and survivor Cassandra Tanner-Miller.
She lost her 18-month old son, Colton, when her estranged husband shot her son multiple times after she was viciously beaten by him.
Incidents and experiences like those of Tanner-Miller’s should be considered “on how we as a state can better protect victims of crime,” Welter said.
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