Wabash Watchdog: Holding Tippecanoe County's Law and Order Accountable

0        Welcome to the Watchdog Blog , where we aspire to track crime, punishment, and government practices in Tippecanoe County, Indiana. Our mission is to expose how reforms can create new injustices if not properly implemented. In this post, we dive into “bail jail” —a term we coined to describe pretrial detention systems that drain defendants' financial resources even after they've posted bail. We'll also explore how government overreach has chipped away at constitutional protections , with examples at federal, state, and local levels . Bail Jail: How It Works      The concept of bail jail arises from systems where posting bond is no longer enough to secure release. Defendants like Ashlynn Perigo , arrested in Tippecanoe County , are held in spite of posting bail , forced into pretrial programs with extra fees and monitoring conditions. The pretrial release program does nothing more than strip the accused of a way to hire private counsel, beca...

Understanding Indiana’s Risk Assessment System (IRAS) and Bail Reform Introduction: Bail Reform Across the States In recent years, many U.S. states have overhauled their bail systems to prioritize fairness and public safety. Traditional cash bail often meant that low-risk defendants languished in jail pretrial only because they couldn’t afford bail, while wealthier but higher-risk individuals walked free​. To address this, jurisdictions like New Jersey, Kentucky, and New York have implemented evidence-based pretrial reforms. New Jersey, for example, virtually eliminated cash bail in 2017 and adopted a risk assessment model; as a result, the state’s pretrial jail population dropped by about 20% from 2015 to 2022 with no increase in crime. ​ Kentucky’s use of a statewide risk tool similarly increased release rates and court appearance rates while reducing new criminal activity by 15%​.  These reforms aim to ensure that release decisions hinge on a defendant’s risk level rather than t...

 Access Denied: Independent Journalist Fights for Delphi Case Transparency By Jimmie L Clayton, Jr – Opinion/Analysis Delphi, Ind. (March 7, 2025) – In a high-profile murder case that has gripped Indiana, an independent journalist’s fight for access to public court records is exposing a troubling rift in how our justice system treats media. Anthony Greeno – a digital investigative journalist covering the State of Indiana v. Richard Allen (the Delphi murders case) – requested public trial exhibits and court records under Indiana’s open-records law. The court’s response? A firm denial. This episode highlights a broader struggle: Are independent journalists being shut out of information that is supposed to be public? And if so, what does that mean for transparency and equal access to justice?  Independent Journalists vs. Judicial Gatekeeping Greeno’s saga underscores the uphill battle many independent journalists face. On January 3, 2025, he filed a formal request under ...