In Massachusetts, offenders can be held for 180 days. “A lot of violence happens between arraignment and disposition,” Dunne says. “We contain the offender so the victim doesn’t have to be contained.” Few states have such a clear dangerousness statute, and in her trainings now Dunne encourages advocates to search their states’ bail statutes for something similar. Many advocates simply don’t know to look, though even when they do go back and research their own states’ bail statutes, they’re almost sure to be disappointed. In April 2018, Pennsylvania became only the second state to pass such a
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