Her 24-year-old son, Dylan McGinnis, was shot and killed by alleged shooter Travis Lang, 23, in Indianapolis when McGinnis drove a female friend to meet him.
When the friend and Lang began arguing and she kicked him out of the car, Lang allegedly fired nine bullets into the car on McGinnis’ side, injuring the young woman and killing McGinnis.
As Sterling was in the midst of grieving, she learned additional information about the alleged shooter.
Lang was free on bail out of Marion County with three pending felonies and according to Sterling, it was in part, thanks to the charitable bail organization, The Bail Project.
In January of 2021, The Bail Project posted two separate bonds for Lang: one in the amount of $500 and another in the amount of $5,000.
In July of 2021, additional charges were filed against Lang and a relative posted $150 bond.
Despite failing to appear in court in late July, Lang remained on bail in Indianapolis until his arrest for the murder of McGinnis.
Alleging her son would have not been killed if it weren’t for The Bail Project’s actions, Sterling began advocating for change.
“In 2022, she spoke to media, local legislatures, state representatives and senators to encourage and promote the passing of House Bill 1300, which requires charitable bail organizations to be certified with the Indiana Department of Insurance (IDOI),” said Sterling’s attorney, Drew Kirages.
The Bail Project immediately filed a lawsuit against what they felt was a bill targeted at their specific organization, violating their First Amendment right.
Just last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit ruled against The Bail Project and will require the nonprofit organization be registered and certified with IDOI.
The agency released a statement that read in part: “We’re disappointed by the court’s decision and will be appealing the ruling to the full panel of judges on the Seventh Circuit for additional review. The Bail Project’s services, which are free of charge, help vulnerable low-income Hoosiers who, without our intervention, would remain unnecessarily incarcerated simply because they cannot afford to pay bail amounts set against them.
“For years, we have played a key role in upholding the presumption of innocence in Indiana by filling critical gaps in the provision of supportive services to those who are involved in the pretrial system. Absent our services, thousands of Hoosiers who are still legally presumed innocent, will be forced to remain incarcerated inside hostile, traumatizing jails. We remain steadfast in our conviction that this law is misguided and serves only to emphasize the double standard applied to us, since there are no similar restrictions placed on the for-profit bail bond agents.”
It’s what happens between the release from jail and the next court date that concerns Sterling.
In a new civil lawsuit filed in July of this year, Sterling is suing both The Bail Project and Lang for the death of her son, alleging the organization should have had more knowledge of who they released on bail before doing so, and therefore, contributing to the death of McGinnis.
“The Bail Project has faced similar actions in Kentucky and Nevada and they were successful in getting those cases tossed out by a court,” Kirages said. “We believe our findings will show that The Bail Project knew or should have known that posting Lang’s bond could and would allow him the opportunity to commit a violent crime.”
To Kirage’s knowledge, the organization has not bailed anyone out of jail while the HB1300 law is under review but believes regardless of the outcome, changes still need to be made.
“I would presume, based on the allegations, that The Bail Project didn’t do a proper investigation [when bailing out Lang]. I don’t know if they are still posting bails at this time because they’re currently appealing the new law but the concern is they are not appropriately investigating the individuals before they post bail,” Kirages said.
The civil suit alleges prior to the new law, The Bail Project was acting as a bail or surety agent but without being registered and certified, they can be held liable for their actions.
“In order to post bail for someone you have to be a qualified, certified and registered agent or you need to be over 18 years old, lived in Indiana for a period of time and be related to the person,” Kirages said. “The Bail Project was none of those.”
Kirages expects the next steps in the civil lawsuit will come in mid to late September and will likely be a motion to dismiss from The Bail Project. The process will take several more months before a court date is set.
“I’m not against bail reform,” Kirages said. “What I am against is a huge, nonprofit posting cash bonds without doing the proper investigation necessary.”
Lang’s murder trial is scheduled to begin in Marion County on Aug. 14.
Source: Melissa Gibson, The Lebanon Reporter. Click here to view original link.