My son, Trevor Gray, 20 years old was murdered 1/2/19. His was the 1st murder in Jacksonville, FL in 2019. In 2019 alone there were 160 homicides of which 129 were murders.  The one charged with my sons murder not only faces Murder 2 but two counts of attempted second degree murder and a charge of shooting at a moving vessel. He was just given the opportunity to bond out of jail! He originally had a
500,000 bond and it was reduced to 110,000.00 courtesy of Judge Maureen Horkan who also agreed to waive the monitoring fees for his ankle bracelet. There should be absolutely NO REASON why someone who is facing a murder charge, much less 3, should have the opportunity to have such a low bond and monitoring fees waived! How did this happen? The Judge is given discretion when setting the bond amount and the ability of the defendant to pay is considered. The purpose of a bail determination in criminal proceedings is to ensure the appearance of the criminal defendant at subsequent proceedings and to protect the community against unreasonable danger from the criminal defendant. I believe Those charged with murder should have a minimum 1,000,000.00 bond and the judge should not have discretion to set a lower bond amount. The financial resources of the accused should have no bearing in the bond set for a murder charge. The community and victims should be first in consideration! The nature and probability of danger which the defendant’s release poses to the community and the nature and probability of intimidation and danger to victims should take precedence. Many would argue they may sit for years before their case is settled, this would not be the case if they did not waive their right to a speedy trial! I must add that the rights of the person who was murdered were stripped forever when their life was taken. The victim should be considered first and foremost, not the criminal charged for the act.

Below is a link to our current laws

http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0900
0999/0903/0903.html