Ansewer: Bail is collateral in exchange for being released pending the trial to encourage the person to show up. At which point its returned to whoever paid it. If the person doesn’t show up the money is forfeited to the court, and an arrest warrant is issued.
In practice bail is often set too high for people to realistically afford so many people either stay in jail, for in some instances years, pending the trial or use bail bonds, which is basically where the bond company pays your bail in exchange for a fee that’s usually a small portion of the total bail. So if bail was set at $100k, a bond company might charge you $10k, pay your bail then when you show up to court they get their $100k back and also keep your $10k as profit.
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