DeSantis rejects ‘woke’ cash bail reform: ‘An ideological agenda’

Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis reiterated his opposition to eliminating cash bail in the state Thursday, saying the idea is not “sound judgment” and calling it part of “an ideological agenda.”

During a speech to the Miami Police Benevolent Association, DeSantis laid out ways his administration planned to preserve law and order in the state of Florida, including rejecting attempts by “rogue” judges to release alleged criminals for certain crimes and preventing prosecutors from treating them with “kid gloves.”

“We also have, from the very beginning in the state of Florida, rejected the idea that you get rid of things like cash bail like they did in New York, and like they just recently did in Illinois,” DeSantis said, before describing an instance in which a woman in New York was re-arrested four times in seven days after being released on each offense following the removal of cash bail in the state.

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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks after being sworn in to begin his second term during an inauguration ceremony outside the Old Capitol on Jan. 3, 2023, in Tallahassee, Florida.
(AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)

He went on to say that his administration would limit who is eligible for release prior to their first court appearance based on the crime, and that they would make sure judges were the “ultimate decision maker” when it came to an alleged criminal’s detention, which he said would deter “different flavors of prosecutors” from approaching bail inconsistently.

During a question session following his speech, DeSantis told one individual asking about bail reform that much of the decisions to release repeat offenders had been “based on ideology.”

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“It’s not been based on accumulated experience or sound judgment. It’s been an ideological agenda,” he said.

Following his speech, Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., the former mayor of Miami-Dade County, praised DeSantis’ rejection of cash bail, calling the idea “woke.”

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“Thank you, [Gov. Ron DeSantis], for standing up for the rule of law and fighting against woke bail reform in Miami-Dade County. I was Mayor of Miami-Dade County and wholeheartedly oppose the dangerous proposal to reform or abolish cash bail in my community!” he said in a tweet linking to video of DeSantis’ speech.