Advocates claim electronic monitoring devices have been pivotal in addressing disparity in the justice system. However, unforeseen drawbacks have been experienced by many of the accused. An instance is the case of Khyla Mason, who was apprehended and charged with the illicit use of a firearm. She was freed but with an ankle monitor.
During a heated disagreement last year, Khyla Mason brandished a gun in the air while standing on a neighbor’s front porch. According to her, she did it as an act of self-protection. Although no shots were fired, the incident, captured on video, involved some nearby kids. Consequently, Mason found herself in a correctional facility in St. Louis, accused of unlawful usage of a firearm.
Among local lawyers, it’s common knowledge that individuals charged with the same offense in St. Louis used to secure a minimal bond and continue their daily routines until the trial. However, for Khyla Mason, who was 21 at the time, the scenario unfolded differently. Upon her release, she bore a device analogous to a deck of cards in size, fastened onto her right leg.
This apparatus kept a log of her whereabouts at any given moment. Over a span of several weeks, it reported every time Mason violated her court-appointed curfew or left her residence without getting a clearance. At times, her movements were related to necessary household errands. Sometimes, she needed to buy groceries and diapers for her 2-year-old son or had to rush him to the hospital.
On over two dozen occasions, she was reported for failing to comply with the device-induced restrictions, which eventually led her back to jail. She found herself confined for a further thirty days. This issue is not exclusive to Mason, and the use of electronic monitors on defendants is a rapidly growing trend across America, driven by a determined effort to avoid overcrowding in jails, and to prevent pre-trial incarceration for minor infractions.
The St. Louis city circuit court is one of many entities that have heralded electronic monitoring as a revolutionary measure against the cash bail system. The implementation of electronic monitoring devices has seen significant growth. There was more than a two-fold increase in the number of monitors activated in the first half of 2024 compared to the same period in 2021, reaching over 550.