Recent murder shows zero bail bill shouldn’t pass, say state’s DAs

The California District Attorneys Association on Tuesday called the murder of a Sacramento woman, allegedly killed by a man released on zero bail for unrelated charges, as one reason why bail measure SB 262 should be rejected by the Assembly this week.

Troy Davis was charged on Tuesday by Sacramento County District Attorney and attorney general candidate Anne Marie Schubert with sexually assaulting and murdering the 61-year-old woman, killing her two dogs and setting her home on fire. People v. Troy Davis, 21-250883 (Sac. Super. Ct., filed Sept. 7, 2021)

Davis had previously been charged with auto theft and drug possession, but was released from custody on zero bail under the county's emergency bail schedule. He has two prior felony convictions for robbery and assault with a deadly weapon in addition to the pending charges from June, according to the felony complaint filed by the DA's office Tuesday.

"None of these appalling crimes would likely have occurred had this person been behind bars where he belonged," Vern Pierson, president of the district attorneys association, said in a statement.

"While CDAA remains committed to sensible bail reform, SB 262 is a fatally flawed measure. We had worked with Sen. [Bob] Hertzberg in the hopes of crafting a measure that would not sacrifice public safety in trying to create a better bail system. Unfortunately, this bill utterly fails to achieve that goal," Pierson said.

SB 262 was introduced in January by Hertzberg, D-Van Nuys, and state Sen. Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, along with now- Attorney General Rob Bonta, D-Oakland, then an Assembly member.

The proposed bill, according to Hertzberg, seeks to address disproportionate impacts of the state's money bail system on low-income defendants. If passed, the bill would set bail at zero for misdemeanors and what he called low-level felonies.

The bill also states that it is the Legislature's intent to ensure that a person is not kept in custody pending trial simply because of their inability to afford bail.

"Fundamental fairness and basic human decency demands we make decisions about who stays in jail on the facts of the case and the risk to the public, not the balance of someone's bank account," Hertzberg said in announcing the proposed legislation in January.

The district attorneys association's main objections to the bill, according to its statement Tuesday, are: It would allow a defendant with prior felony convictions to be eligible for bail; and would allow defendants with financial resources to be eligible for zero bail by claiming bail would be a hardship without any verification of their finances.

The district attorneys association is a statewide training and advocacy organization representing most of California's elected district attorneys, plus city attorneys with criminal divisions, and more than 3,500 prosecutors.