But then money can do everything? Provisional freedom granted to Swiss spouses Jacques and Jessica Morettiowners and managers of the Le Constellation bar, and charged with manslaughter and negligent bodily harm for the New Year’s Eve tragedy in which 40 people died and 116 were injured, has raised many doubts.
Jacques Moretti according to various media, he is about to leave prison after having collected the 200 thousand Swiss francs (about 215 thousand euros) requested by the Swiss justice system as bail for his release, while his wife Jessica never went to prison and was subjected to some precautionary measures such as the obligation to sign and the ban on leaving the country.
In reality, the institution of bail has ancient origins. In Roman law it served to strengthen the guarantee of fulfillment of certain obligations in civil law. Its extension to the criminal procedural field particularly concerns English law and has then established itself elsewhere; in the United States bail has accentuated its monetary configuration. The essential purpose is to balance the needs of the trial with respect for individual freedom, in many cases replacing preventive detention. Some jurisdictions provide that when setting the amount of the amount, both the seriousness of the crime and the dangerousness of the person and their economic conditions are taken into account. However, this attempt to mitigate the risk of privilege for the richest is only partially successful.
We cannot hide the doubts raised by the decision of the Swiss judiciary, due to the extreme seriousness of the facts being prosecuted and the relationship between the high economic capacity of the defendants and the profits obtained precisely from the operation of that premises. We are relieved to remember that our legislation does not provide for this use of bail. For once, we can say we prefer our system. Money can do too much, often, but it can’t do everything.
