Indiana ballot question would let judges deny bail in more cases

Voters across Indiana will decide on Nov. 3 whether to rewrite a section of the state constitution governing bail. The change would let judges deny bail to people charged with crimes other than murder or treason when prosecutors meet a set legal standard.

Currently, Indiana law allows bail to be denied only in murder and treason cases. The proposed amendment passed the General Assembly in 2023 and again earlier this year, the two approvals required to place a public question on the ballot. If it wins approval, Indiana would join 24 other states that have amended their constitutions to expand pretrial detention.

The ballot language asks whether Article 1, Section 17 should be amended so that a person charged with an offense other than murder or treason is not entitled to bail when the proof is evident or the presumption is strong, and the state proves by clear and convincing evidence that no release conditions will reasonably protect the safety of any other person or the community.

Sen. Eric Koch, a Republican from Bedford who has led the effort, said the standard prosecutors must meet is a high one. "So concerns about people languishing in jail and so forth are really not there," Koch told WFYI.

Opponents point to the wording itself. Danielle Drake, an advocacy manager at the ACLU of Indiana, said the language is too broad. "Consequences happen under this system before guilt is even established," Drake said. She noted that the amendment's text does not limit the change to violent crimes. Tennessee, which is also considering a bail change this year, lists specific crimes such as second-degree murder and aggravated rape.

Prosecutors say they would have to build a record in court before seeking detention. Wes Schemenaur, president of the board for the Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council and the prosecutor for Jay County, said his office would need to show a defendant's history and pattern of conduct. "This is not just a slam dunk or a rubber stamp or a guarantee that that's going to happen," Schemenaur told WFYI. "There's still going to be a neutral judge."

In Marion County, Chief Public Defender Ray Casanova said judges can already set high bonds. The county's bail matrix sets a minimum bond of $10,000 for some major felonies, and judges can raise it for circumstances such as weapon use. "For all practical purposes, we currently have a de facto preventive detention bail system in Marion County," Casanova said. He also raised concerns about defendants losing jobs, housing and services while held before trial.

Data from the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute, cited by the ACLU of Indiana, shows that of 81 counties analyzed in 2025, about 7% of people released on bail were rearrested. The figure excludes Marion County. Eric Grommon, an associate professor of criminal justice at the O'Neill School at Indiana University at Indianapolis, told WFYI that studies show pretrial detention lowers rearrest while a case is pending but raises recidivism in the two years after a case ends. "I think the big question that voters are going to have to wrestle with is whether or not the state should have the power to incarcerate somebody who's not been convicted of an offense because of what we believe that person might do," Grommon said. The general election is Tuesday, Nov. 3, and Marion County voters can vote early at the city-county building.