Activist Bailed Out In Kentucky After Allegedly Attempting to Murder Political Candidate

The release of Quintez Brown, 21, after trying to murder a Kentucky mayoral candidate is simply baffling. Since bail decisions are based in large part on risk to the community, I cannot imagine a less compelling case for bail given a reportedly history of mental illness, an attempted murder of a political candidate, and the possible political motive behind the violence. Notably, many rioters from Jan. 6th were denied bail without a charge of attempted murder. However, Black Lives Matter was able to bail out Brown with seemingly little difficulty.

Brown came within less than an inch of succeeding in murdering Craig Greenberg. Indeed, one round cut the candidate’s sweater. He was bailed out with the help of the Louisville Community Bail Fund, which is reportedly part of Black Lives Matter Louisville.

In Kentucky, all offenses, except some capital offenses, have a right to bail. However, judges may deny bail if they believe that the individual will not appear for court proceedings or is a danger to society. Since 2013, Kentucky has used the Public Safety Assessment (PSA) that looks at the risk of failure to appear, risk of new arrest, and risk of new arrest for a violent crime. The only reason that this is not a capital case is a matter of less than an inch — literally the width of a sweater.

Brown is a known activist who appeared on MSNBC with its host Joy Reid:

It is not clear why he wanted to murder this candidate. However, even as a criminal defense attorney, I am surprised by the bail decision. I could understand removal to a psychiatric hospital, but I cannot square the bail decision.

It is also notable that the BLM money is derived from crowdfunding despite the freezing of such funds for the Canadian truckers.