CDT Interviews Jetton About Bail Law

Jason Rosenbaum of the Columbia Daily Tribune Politics Blog interviewed House Speaker Rod Jetton concerning felons in the bail bond business. In answer to Rosenbaum’s question concerning allowing felons to have a bail bond license, Jetton answered, “…. people with felonies shouldn’t have bail bond licenses..” Jetton went on to say that he would have to read the language before deciding how to vote. The Tribune also interviewed Senator Frank Barnitz who said, ““I absolutely don’t think that felons should get bail bond licenses.”

The Columbia Tribune has been following the issue since the Missouri Senate race between newly elected Senator Wes Shoemyer and former Representative Bob Behnen. Shoemyer televised ads criticizing Behnen’s role in passage of the bill in 2004 which, among other things, allowed convicted felons to become bail bondsmen. (Behnen lost the Senate race to Shoemyer in November 2006.) The Lee Clause (SB1122) that Shoemyer criticized was promoted by the bail association while Lee Jackson was in a leadership position. Jackson had been denied a general bail bond license because of his previous felony convictions. After passage of the bill, Jackson applied for his general bail bond license which was later denied. The same year that the bill became law, Jackson was arrested by the ATF for allegedly conspiring to murder his competitor, former state representative Jerry Cox. Jackson awaits trial on those charges. For a comprehensive look at the events surrounding the passage of this bill, see my post “Law and Sausage.”