
Dude. I am so guilty. Should I even bother paying bail?
If you feel that you are guilty and you’d probably be facing jail time anyway, it’s not the worst idea to forget about paying bail and start serving time in jail. Why? Because if you are ultimately given a jail sentence, the number of days you are sentenced to will be reduced by time served. This allows you to begin serving your time before you’ve even had a hearing.
Still, this course of action isn’t always advisable, because you never know if you’ll actually end up facing jail time. Because of overcrowding, judges often find other ways to sentence a defendant. Also, jail conditions tend to be worse for a defendant who has not been sentenced than those who are serving court ordered jail sentences. And this may sound a little sketchy, but if you aren’t n custody, prosecutors often move your case along more slowly — and during that time, evidence can get stale, witnesses may disappear, or a prosecutor may lose his zealousness for a case.