Thirteen hours following her jailing, 25-year-old Dequanette Imahni Whitlock was released on personal recognizance bond by Magistrate Judge Priscilla Baldwin.

On February 11, 2019, Whitlock was booked into the Al Cannon Detention Center on two charges -- Domestic Violence Second Degree and Assault and Battery Third Degree, totaling $11,087.00 bond amount -- just after 06:30 AM.

While being provided PR bond on the latter charge of Assault and Battery is common in Charleston County, doing so for a Domestic Violence offense is irresponsible and dangerous.

Ms. Whitlock's guilt is not assumed, but our judiciary and legal community must bear responsibility for the safety and wellness of its citizens across the Lowcountry (Scarlett Wilson, anyone?).

Unfortunately, it is difficult to encourage the enactment of needed change in the Bail Bond Industry and the way in which our magistrate judges are elected, when significant problems divert back to both an unfair and incompetent system purposed to benefit the Industry's insurance companies, and the South Carolina lawmaking community at large.

And, the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council has risen in its place, effectively changing the dynamic of Charleston's bail system without an ounce of legal binding. This can only be the result of a callousness of a flawed Industry -- longed to be salvaged. Change must be implemented to sustain accountability across the nation.