Alabama Judge Ben Fuller spent last week being attacked over his plan. He now thinks the uproar that ensued means none of the state’s other judges will consider releasing inmates from crowded jails.

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Judge Ben Fuller was watching television news last Wednesday when he saw a scientist talking about the danger of coronavirus in crowded settings. “He was talking about the nursing homes, which we're all aware of, and then he mentioned county jails and how in county jails, the density of the population creates a real hazard,” the judge said.



The 19th Circuit Court of Alabama

Fuller, who presides over three counties in central Alabama, has a reputation for being tough on crime. But he leaped into action. He didn’t want people to get sick and die in his jails while awaiting their day in court on minor charges. With the assent of two other judges in the circuit, Fuller issued a decree that would release all inmates with bonds of $5,000 or less — bond amounts almost exclusively used for those accused of committing relatively minor crimes. He also added a provision that local sheriffs could continue to detain anyone they thought posed a risk to the community. "This wasn't intended to be a mass release, I just wanted to do something to protect the safety of the jail staff, sheriff's deputies and the inmates,” he said. While Fuller wasn’t sure how many inmates would fall under the order, he said that many of the over 525 people in the three jails in his circuit were in for minor offenses. But before Fuller’s order could take effect, an uproar ensued. First, an angry district court judge posted Fuller’s order on Facebook. Then, Assistant District Attorney C.J. Robinson, a 35-year-old prosecutor for Fuller’s circuit, said his office began to get flooded with calls from judges, crime victims, and the general public, all worried about who exactly would be released. “It was a constant flow of Facebook messages to members of our staff and phone calls to the office. It was constant. It was overwhelming. It was like a crack in a windshield, it just kept spiderwebbing out,” said Robinson. Soon Robinson, who serves on the state executive committee for the Alabama Republican Party, used Facebook to assure the public that his office was “frantically working” to block inmates from being released under the judge’s order. The constituents in his comments section applauded his move. “When released, why not transport them to Fuller’s neighborhood,” one person wrote. Another chimed in, “We violent crime victims are watching.....and believe me when I say Ben Fuller will be held responsible for his order. He is NOT a friend to crime victims.” “Letting them out would just cause mass chaos,” added another.

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