Transcript
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Hi Warriors, welcome to One in Three.
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I'm your host, ingrid.
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During my interview with bail attorney Ken Good in episode 34, we briefly discussed a case involving the untoward results of bail reform.
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Today I delve further into the details of that want to recap some of the information Ken and I discussed back in March.
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The United States Constitution strongly maintains innocence until proven guilty.
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The goal is therefore to allow freedom to offenders while awaiting trial.
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Of course, in certain circumstances that would be negligent at best.
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That would be negligent at best.
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Therefore, judges are allowed to impose certain conditions to ensure the offender remains behind bars or, if released, returns to court.
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These conditions may include monetary assurance, known as bonds, supervision or location surveillance.
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Bail is a process of releasing offenders while awaiting trial using any of those conditions I just mentioned.
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Most people, however, understand bail to be synonymous with just monetary bonds.
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Anyway, bail reform was introduced with the thought that cash bail release can be discriminatory.
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If an offender is of lower socioeconomic status, they would not be able to meet the monetary bond amount.
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If you want to get further details regarding this topic, I'm going to refer you back to Ken's episode, because he obviously does a much better job explaining it than me.
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So now on to Caitlin.
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She was married to Alex Daniel Guajardo, and shared one child with him in their Pasadena Texas home.
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She was 17 weeks pregnant with their second.
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The family was looking forward to finding out the gender of the new baby.
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Life behind closed doors was not a happy one for the couple, though.
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Alex had been known to beat his wife, melanie Infinger.
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Caitlin's mother had pleaded with her daughter to report the abuse to the police.
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With one DWI driving while intoxicated offense already under his belt already under his belt, alex was arrested again in May 2019 for yet another DWI, as well as a hit and run, when, in front of the judge, he was released on a personal recognizance or PR bond.
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A PR bond is more or less a promise and falls into that bail reform I was just talking about.
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Once a court verifies the offender's information, such as legal residence and occupation, they may be considered for a PR bond.
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This offers an opportunity for the individual to provide their signature promising to return to court on their scheduled date to face their charges.
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They are then released with a $0 or small administrative fee.
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I want you to pay particular attention to this next part.
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The judge is also to take prior offenses, degree of crime charged with, either violent or non-violent, and flight risk into consideration prior to granting a PR bond.
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As Alex's DWI charges were minimal, it seemed to be a fair determination to release him.
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Alex didn't maintain good behavior, however.
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In fact, it wasn't long after his DWI charge that he was arrested again.
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This time, his offense was for something that held a little more weight.
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He had brutally beaten his pregnant wife, which included punching her in the face.
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He had also tortured and killed her cat.
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Finally, conceding to her mom's wishes, caitlin called the police, filed a report and had her husband arrested.
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Melanie begged her daughter to pack necessities and bring her eight-month-old daughter along to stay at her home.
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Despite the arrest of her son-in-law, melanie remained concerned for her daughter and granddaughter's safety.
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Caitlin wasn't phased, though.
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She knew the legal system was supposed to help victims.
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She believed she was safe.
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The legal system was supposed to help victims.
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She believed she was safe, and why wouldn't she?
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This man would be presented to a judge with a pending felony and three misdemeanor charges.
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Surely he wouldn't be leaving the jail anytime soon.
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But Caitlin was wrong.
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On August 3rd 2019, alex was released on another PR bond, just 17 hours after his arrest.
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Now, what do you think this man with a prior history of domestic violence and utter disregard for human or animal life would want to do as soon as he was free?
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Your gut is probably telling you something you hope isn't true.
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Well, alex immediately returned to the home he shared with his 20 year old wife and daughter.
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He did not want someone else to have the opportunity to raise his unborn child and he certainly couldn't let Caitlin's disrespect to him go unpunished.
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He stabbed Caitlin 20 times deliberately in her stomach, assuring the murder of both his wife and his baby.
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Following this arrest, he was not released on bond.
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Within two months of being in jail, alex was found with two shanks or makeshift knives.
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One was in his sock and one was in his cell.
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Possession of a lethal weapon in a penal institution is a third-degree felony.
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Penal institution is a third-degree felony.
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Alex decided to accept a plea deal and pleaded guilty to two counts of murder in exchange for the possibility of parole.
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His sentencing actually was just a few weeks ago.
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He was given two life sentences for murder and 10 years for possession of the shanks, all to be served concurrently.
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He will be eligible for parole after 30 years.
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I hate presenting yet another tragic ending with disappointing legal actions.
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But I wanted to highlight the warrior that emerged.
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Melanie Infinger refuses to let the murder of her daughter and unborn grandchild be in vain.
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She is working with Pasadena Police Chief, paul Brugger, and President of the Houston Police Officers Union, Joe Gamaldi, to get Caitlin's Law passed into Texas legislature.
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Texas Senator Paul Betancourt is a sponsor of Caitlin's Law.
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Caitlin's Law would require judges to stop issuing PR bonds to suspects who already had one and set a minimum bond of $10,000 for anyone who's had three or more felony charges.
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Why would Melanie take this on while trying to heal from her personal tragedy?
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In her words, quote In a million years I never expected to be getting involved in something like this, but I can't rest knowing I didn't at least try to help.
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If I can save mothers from this debilitating grief, it will be worth the long fight ahead.
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End quote.
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Endure a nightmare from which we can never awaken ever since the system failed.
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Caitlin and her unborn baby.
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End quote.
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Thank you for listening.
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Sources for today can be found in the show notes.
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I will be back with another episode for you.
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Until then, stay strong and wherever you are in your journey, always remember you are not alone.
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Follow 1 in 3 on Instagram, facebook and Twitter at 1in3podcast.
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To help me out, please remember to rate, review and subscribe.
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1 in 3 is a .5 Pinoy production Music written and performed by Tim Crow.
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© transcript Emily Beynon.