| am disappointed to hear that people are upset and faulting Judge Studdard for doing his job as mandated by his oath and the constitution, being an independent arbiter of facts. Mr. West is not the first person who has been charged with murder released on bail. People seem to forget, until it is one of their loved ones, that a defendant is presumed Innocent until proven guilty. If the legislature intended that all charged with murder be denied bail that would be the law and judges would not" have discretion to grant bail. Judge Studdard was very thoughtful in his decision making and | am proud of him, because he had to know that he would face backlash from some people. Some specific facts are important to know. Mr. West was fully aware of the allegations against him and chose to self surrender. That fact clearly showed Judge Studdard that he is'fiot a flight risk, The second factor the judge had to consider is whether Mr West is a present danger to anyone in the community if released. The judge considered among other things, the fact that: Mr. West was fully and gainfully employed; he is a business and property owner; he has not had a conviction since 2003; he is 48 years old and he does not have a history of violence in his background, Taking all of those facts and others into consideration the judge fashioned what he believes to be appropriate conditions of release, including requiring that Mr. West wear an electronic monitoring bracelet with GPS capabilities.