What About Us?
Victims, communities, the Constitution, and the presumption of innocence all have a stake in how America handles bail. Professional surety bail answers for every one of them.
Mike Morrison | Public Safety & Accountability
In 1995, Michael Jackson released “Earth Song,” and the question running through it was a simple one: What about us? He was asking who speaks for the people left out of the conversation. That same question belongs in every discussion about bail and public safety in America today. Reform advocates have spent years telling the public what they believe is wrong with the system. They have spent very little time answering the questions that matter most to the people who live with the results.
What about the victims? When a person is arrested, there is almost always someone on the other side of that charge. A family that was robbed. A woman who was assaulted. A business owner who watched years of hard work disappear in one night. Victims want to know that the accused will be in court, that the case will move forward, and that justice will not be lost to a missed court date and a warrant that sits in a drawer. Professional surety bail gives them that assurance. A licensed bail agent has a financial stake in the defendant’s appearance, and when a defendant fails to show, the agent goes to work to bring that person back before the court. Release without accountability gives a victim nothing but hope.
What about the communities? Every community deserves to know who is being released and who is responsible for making sure that person comes back. With surety bail, the answer is clear. A licensed, regulated professional stands behind every bond, along with the family member or friend who co-signed it. That is a support system built around the defendant, made up of people who have every reason to keep him on track. When defendants are released on nothing more than a promise, the job of finding them falls back on law enforcement agencies that are already stretched thin, and the cost falls on the taxpayers.
What about the Constitution? The Eighth Amendment states that excessive bail shall not be required. The Mississippi Constitution goes further. Article 3, Section 29 states that all persons shall, before conviction, be bailable by sufficient sureties, with only limited exceptions. Surety is written into the Constitution of our state. Bail was never meant to be a punishment, and it was never meant to be abolished. It was meant to be the bridge between arrest and trial, protecting both the liberty of the accused and the authority of the court. Professional surety bail honors that design. It allows a person to go home to family and work while the court keeps its assurance that he will return.
What about the presumption of innocence? Every American accused of a crime is presumed innocent until proven guilty. That principle is the foundation of our justice system, and surety bail protects it every single day. It allows a person who has not been convicted of anything to be released, prepare a defense, keep a job, and care for a family. It does this without asking the taxpayer to pay for it and without asking the public to simply trust that things will work out. The accused keeps his freedom. The court keeps its accountability. The community keeps its safety.
What about everything else professional surety bail provides? It is privately funded. The defendant and the people who support him carry the cost, not the taxpayer. Bail agents work nights, weekends, and holidays. They stay in contact with defendants, remind them of court dates, and when someone misses court, they are often the first ones out looking. If a defendant is not returned, the bail agent is responsible for paying the forfeiture. No other form of pretrial release puts a private professional’s own money on the line to guarantee that a person shows up for court.
So the next time someone tells you surety bail should be eliminated, ask them the question. What about the victims? What about the communities? What about the Constitution? What about the presumption of innocence? Those questions deserve answers, and the people working to end surety bail have yet to give them. Professional surety bail has answered every one of them for generations. That is why it still matters, and that is why we will keep telling our story.
Michael D. Morrison
About the Author
Mike Morrison is the 2026 PBUS National Bail Agent of the Year, President of the Mississippi Bail Agents Association, and a nationally recognized bail educator, speaker, and criminal justice commentator. With more than 35 years of hands-on experience as a licensed Professional Bail Agent and owner of Mike Morrison Bail Bonding Company in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, he brings a practical, real-world perspective to discussions involving American legal history, institutional accountability, constitutional rights, public safety, technology, and public policy.
Morrison is recognized as a bail trainer by the Mississippi Judicial College and is a sought-after guest speaker for judicial, prosecutorial, and industry conferences across the country. He has presented before state judges, justice court clerks, prosecutors, attorneys general staff, and bail professionals nationwide, and he travels to state bail association conferences to speak on bail and on social media strategy for the profession. He also leads professional education and ethics programs for bail agents through the Master Class Bail Agent Series and other national training initiatives.
At the national level, Morrison works with the Professional Bail Agents of the United States (PBUS) Board of Directors and supports its committees on national initiatives. He also works with the boards of directors of other state bail associations, sharing the strategies behind Mississippi’s successes so they can be put to work across the profession.
He has published nearly 200 articles examining the institutions, policies, and decisions that affect working Americans. His writing is grounded in decades spent inside courtrooms, jails, communities, and the criminal justice system, and his commentary has surpassed 1.9 million views across social media in 2026.
Independent, plain-spoken, and focused on accountability, Morrison writes and speaks about the intersection of government, liberty, public safety, professional responsibility, and the real-world consequences of public policy in Mississippi and across the nation.
© 2026 Mike Morrison. All rights reserved.
