On 19 January 2019, a Mount Pleasant man was arrested for the first time in Charleston County on one count of Voyeurism ($5,000.00) -- he was released on personal recognizance bond just over one day later.

While some may not think Michael Deantonio's PR bond crossed a red line, he was incarcerated again less than five days after release from the Al Cannon Detention Center.

On January 25, Deantonio was arrested on an identical charge of Voyeurism. And upon admission to Bond Court, Judge Priscilla Baldwin -- despite the risks associated with his release -- provided him with his second PR bond in less than a week.

As time continues to pass by, the volume of inmates provided personal recognizance bond(s) increases. The proportion of those who re-offend only dilute Charleston County's bail system, thanks to the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council's work.

Michael Deantonio's two charges of Voyeurism aren't necessarily the same compared to serious offenses documented by our reporting -- but they paint a picture of a principle imbalance as it relates to a seemingly selective granting of freedom. Judge Baldwin is generally indiscriminate in this process, but it isn't always the same for charges of lesser significance.

Charleston Jail Watch has reported on this subject, with one incidence in recent memory -- in early August 2018, we published a piece outlining four previous inmates -- and grouped them in such a way that two represented serious offenses, and two represented petty crimes.

Dictron Brown-Philips and James Tindall were arrested and PR'd on Burglary-related offenses, while Philip Smith and Elizabeth Shelley were held without bond on Open Container and Trespassing charges. Racial disparities and inequality in any instance stains what America should be. It is a problem that cannot be solved by tearing down the constitutional system of bail.