SHELBY COUNTY, Tenn. - - A city fed up. Lawlessness is running widespread in Memphis, and numerous blame the bail system for making it worse.

One criminal activity victim thinks it's part of the reason the man who carjacked her went out and committed criminal activity.

" I had stopped by the store to get my mother something to consume," Chasity Beecher stated.

She was at a filling station in Frayser when she saw a man with a weapon.



" It was big, black with a huge wood handle on it. They call it a Draco," Beecher stated. "He resembled, B, get out of the vehicle."

He intended it at her and her young nieces. She turned over the cars and truck and called cops.

" I can keep in mind whatever about the day so strongly," she stated. If I closed my eyes, I see this man with a gun in my face."

Beecher resided in constant worry and only discovered some relief when police made an arrest.

Malik Pigram

Precisely 2 years later on the day she was set to testify, she learnt Malik Pigram pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of attempted carjacking. According to court files we found, he got eight years probation with conditions like job training, random drug screenings and 300 hours of community service.

" It's a slap in the face," Beecher said. "He'll go out again, and he'll do something else."

In April, authorities state Pigram shot at a cars and truck. In August, they say he broke into Buster's Liquor shop.

In custody, court records state pretrial services did an assessment declaring he wasn't on probation despite the fact that he was.





They noted he was a "danger to public safety," however he wasn't flagged for his "credibility, character or psychological condition."

Despite authorities reports we uncovered through the Tennessee Records Act claim his mother has been in "fear of her kid's temper," and his daddy noted "paranoid schizophrenia runs in the family."

It's uncertain if that details was taken a look at. What we do understand is that a judicial commissioner set his bond at $35,000 for both cases.

His probation was later withdrawed, and he's now being held without bond.



Pigram's cases went through a new system.

In 2015, Shelby County introduced a bail hearing space within 201 Poplar to make sure accuseds get a hearing within 72 hours of the arrest.

Due to the fact that they're poor, it likewise permits their monetary situation to aspect in to prevent offenders from getting stuck in prison merely.

A defendant would be launched on their own recognizance, meaning launched without paying anything, when there's no engaging proof they're a flight threat or a public safety threat.

To make it work, pretrial services would speak with each offender. They would rely on their responses and background checks and turn over their findings to a judicial commissioner, selected by the Shelby County Commission, who would then set the quantity.

A tale of 2 bails

BNN Investigators pulled bail setting forms at random to get a much better concept of how the process works.

Maurice Carter

One case we discovered included Maurice Yarborough Carter. He is implicated of carjacking a food delivery driver downtown last summer season.

He was flagged as a public safety danger, and it was noted he didn't show up to court 5 times, and had 3 felonies and 20 misdemeanor convictions.

We requested every cops report he's listed in, and what we found accompanies what's listed on the bail setting form.

His bond was set at $100,000 dollars.

Justin Roberts

Justin Roberts was jailed last February after being accused of asking a lady for cash and continuing to search her. While setting his bail, it was noted he had a record disappointing approximately court and had a "violent behavior history."

He was flagged for his track record, character and mental condition.

We discovered a number of lots reports that enter into more detail. They specify he's been on police radar because he was a teen. One mentions possible ties to a gang. He's been implicated of several thefts, assaults and robberies.

His financial condition was also thought about. His bail was set at $10,000 dollars.



Roberts got out. Court records state he confronted kids, robbed a man and then committed another armed break-in.

This time, his bail was set at $100,000. He stays behind bars.

Memphis Shelby Crime Commission President Bill Gibbons said per state law, specific elements need to be taken into consideration when setting bail like the nature of the offense, work and track record.

" Basically, it's those aspects that require to be thought about. On one end of the extreme, the bail can not be punitive in nature, so high as to be punitive.

General Sessions Judge Bill Anderson oversees the judicial commissioners. He didn't get return to our several e-mails concerning our request for an interview and a closer look at the bail hearing space.

He and the lead judicial commissioner, however, entered front of the county commission in September.

They described that, rather of a bail business simply setting up the money, they can enforce conditions when accuseds are launched on recognizance. It assists them stay out of trouble and continue to provide for their families.

" I enforce conditions. General Sessions Judge Bill Anderson and lead Judicial Commissioner John Marshall

They handed over numerous pages of data showing the new system saw a slight decrease in people getting detained again while out on bond. They state the average bail quantity for violent offenses likewise increased and for non-violent offenses, it reduced.

The county commission is expected to get an annual update on the bail hearing space next month.

" I think we are now adhering to state law in a much better method than we were in the past," lead Judicial Commissioner John Marshall stated.



What they didn't raise though, were the cases brought into question, like a man implicated of opening fire when he was captured getting into cars getting out on a $50,000 bond, or how a male implicated of having actually a stolen gun when he stole two automobiles and tried to take a third was launched without any bond.

There was even more criticism in November, when a teen murder suspect was released without bond.

Judge Anderson was reprimanded recently for saying he "detests" the bail bond system in the commission meeting. He told the Tennessee Board of Judicial Conduct he follows the law despite his personal views.

" They aren't taking a lot of time. They are simply setting the bonds, and it's suitable for some individuals who get jailed, we need to get them out, however for some individuals it's not," Shelby County Criminal Court Judge Christopher Craft said.

He believes a judicial commissioner can't vet an accused as completely as a judge.

" There's not any way they can do that, and also, they're not elected. They're appointed by the county commission. There's nothing like an elected judge who's responsible for individuals deciding," Judge Craft said.

State lawmakers concur. They passed a law that provides only judges-- not judicial commissioners-- the authority to set a bond for defendants in class A and B felonies.

Management in Nashville also wants to offer judges more authority to deny bail for more violent offenses, and 2 regional Republican legislators are proposing an expense that would get rid of financial conditions from consideration.

" Where I believe the system could improve is that judicial commissioners need to be putting more weight on the criminal history of the offender," Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy said. "What needs to be cleaned up is that D.A.'s do not set bail."

DA Mulroy said his office just makes suggestions. What he can do, when it concerns certain violent criminal offenses, is ask that public safety gets correct weight, and if the accused is launched, that they get some kind of monitoring.

" And if they are re-arrested, we are going to instantly and always relocate to ask to revoke the bond," he stated.

Chasity Beecher

The DA's workplace states it's likewise requesting the male who carjacked Beecher get jail time now instead of probation.

Who's to say they won't slap him on the wrist again?" she stated.

"Do you believe the system is broken," BNN asked.

"Yes. Yes. It doesn't work for the victims," Beecher stated.