AP News, August 3rd, 2007
Roy Boyd lived in hotels for six months to avoid a warrant on burglary charges, constantly fearful he was about to be arrested.
On Friday he turned himself in at Galilee Missionary Baptist Church under a program that allows fugitives to surrender in a less-intimidating environment in exchange for favorable consideration from the courts.
Boyd, who says he is innocent, walked free without posting bond and now has a court date set by a judge at the church.
"It's wonderful. It's wonderful," the 31-year-old painter said as he left Galilee Missionary. "It takes a lot of stress off of you. When you've got a warrant, you're always worried. You're always worried: When am I going to go to jail?"
The Fugitive Safe Surrender program was started by the U.S. Marshals Service in Cleveland two years ago and spread to Indianapolis, Phoenix and Akron, Ohio, before Nashville, where there are about 40,000 unserved warrants.
The program lets fugitives see their warrants, go through a booking process, talk to an attorney and even see a judge. Many walk out free and clear because the charges are dropped, or they are given only small fines or a few hours of community service.
Fugitives were greeted at the door Friday by volunteers from churches wearing Safe Surrender T-shirts with the silhouette of a bird flying toward an open door.
Denny King, a U.S. marshal in Tennessee, said one woman had her warrant cleared Thursday and then came back to the church to volunteer. A man charged with violating his probation after a drug conviction walked in the door Friday, after the Marshals Service had been trying to catch him for months.
"We'd spent a lot of time and a lot of manpower trying to track him down," King said. "In the end, I sent a flier (about the program) to his mom's house. Forty-one cents brought him in."
Inside the church's fellowship hall, some of the fugitives' children ran around chairs and tables, and there were free snacks and water. Some people nervously sat in silence. A few cried; others laughed and joked with friends.
After processing, they waited in the sanctuary for a hearing before a judge.
Deputy criminal court clerk Tammy Brooks marveled at how peaceful the atmosphere was compared with what she usually encounters in court.
"I'm going to cry when it's over tomorrow," she said. "They need to go nationwide with this. It would make the world a better place."
Kent State University criminal justice professor Dan Flannery, who is analyzing data from the program, said about 75 percent of the fugitives who show up say they would not turn themselves in if the program wasn't at a church.
Between 85 percent and 93 percent of those who are assigned a court date show up, a very high percentage, he said.
James Denson, 50, was stunned to leave the church a free man. He had been charged with possessing a weapon without a permit and had fled town rather than turn himself in.
"Everybody was telling me I'd get five years or 10 years," he said. "I got scared and ran. ... Three years I've had this hanging over me."
His case was dismissed.
Alicia Robertson, 32, said police had knocked on her door frequently since she missed a court date last month on a charge of driving without a license. Two weeks ago she quit her job cleaning buildings at Fisk University because she was afraid they would catch her there.
With two children and bills to pay she was getting desperate, but was afraid she would be sent to jail if she turned herself in. On Friday, she was sentenced to four hours of community service.
"I don't care if it's 25 hours," she said. "I'm not in jail."
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On the Net:
Fugitive Safe Surrender: http://www.usmarshals.gov/safesurrender/index.html
