New Mexico compound judge issues low bail to offenders – and it’s not the first time

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A state judge, known for going easy on violent offenders, on Monday set only a $20,000 bail for five defendants arrested at a remote New Mexico compound.

Fox News reports Judge Sarah Backus, an elected Democrat, ordered the two men and three women to wear ankle monitors, have weekly contact with their attorneys and not consume alcohol or own firearms while on bail.

She said although she was concerned by “troubling facts,” prosecutors failed to articulate any specific threats to the community.

The five suspects were arrested after police found the body of a dead child, and 11 other children living in filth, starving, and apparently being trained to carry out school shootings.

Just last month, the same judge set a $10,000 bond for a man accused of battering his girlfriend, his newborn child and a health care worker in 2016.

Corrie O'Connor