A good number of friends, family and concerned strangers have asked us: Why did I bail him out, instead of trying to hire a lawyer? I think that's a valid question; I myself agonized over it for several days before I could make the final decision. There are several reasons that we took the path we did, and I'd like to share them with you if you will.
Firstly, all of the attorneys we consulted were quoting prices far above the amount needed for bail. While it was possible to raise the amount needed for bail, it was simply not possible for us to scrape together the amount we needed to hire a proper attorney. Most were more than a little gun shy at the prospect of working to defend someone who had been pushed into a confession to begin with. The moment they understood what they were up against, the price began to go up. They also know all too well how the system works here. Hearing how fiercely the town's officials were fighting to put George behind bars left them wary. In short, this fight is going to be costly. Far more costly than we could have afforded, even with the money we raised and ended up using for his bail.
Second, it quickly became clear to me that Mason County Jail was more than a little abusive towards George. Thinking they had a pedophile in their midst, they went well out of their way to make his life Hell, and I would later learn of fun little tactics like leaving razors in the cells for hours on end (for anyone to pick up and use as a weapon if they felt like it) or pairing George up with a cell mate who somehow knew he was accused of this crime and was ready to attack him for it. I knew George was in very real danger. I knew he may not live to defend himself. And I knew they were denying him legal counsel outright, as well as stalling (even after I began making calls to ensure that he received a lawyer) to try and put him through arraignment and even the preliminary hearing before he had a chance to receive a court appointed attorney. It was far too dangerous to leave him in their control. I had to get him out so we could fight together. So he could live to fight another day. And so they couldn't continue to traumatize him and attempt to break him down before his trial.
Third, due to the trauma of it all, George's mental state was on the decline. He already has PTSD, a stroke history, and a few other problems. It was not wise to leave him in an abusive and dangerous environment, for obvious reasons. I didn't know if they'd break him completely - he could only remain silent and request a lawyer for so long before potentially just losing it. If we were going to fight for his innocence, we needed to get him back on solid ground.
I don't regret the decision in the least. After he emerged from jail, George found the strength to survive. He had a court appointed lawyer in a matter of a couple of days (although, unfortunately, we have since found the lawyer to be overworked and downright disinterested). Things hit the ground running. Much of the evidence, papers, statements, and so on, we could only start to get after he was out of jail. While in jail, they had him in a place where he truly could not defend himself in any way. Of course on a more emotional note, he is a little more stable now that he's safe (scarred and broken though he may be), and we are trying to treasure every moment we have together, knowing it may be our last.
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