PCS Bail Bonds (www.PCSBailBonds.com), Fort Worth, Texas’ most trusted bail bond service, is weighing in on the release of a former Fort Worth police officer on $10,000 bail after spending 10 years in prison.
Earlier this month, former Fort Worth Police Officer Brian Edward Franklin was released on a $10,000 bond. He had previously been imprisoned for close to 8,000 days after being convicted of sexual assault of a child back in 1995—a crime of which he adamantly claimed he was not guilty. (Source: Mitchell, M., “\’I’m not the only innocent man in prison,\’ freed Fort Worth man says,” The Star-Telegram, May 5, 2016; http://www.star-telegram.com/news/local/community/fort-worth/article75906357.html.)
“That’s a long time for anyone to remain in prison while they fight their case,” says Paul Schuder, owner of PCS Bail Bonds. “One can only imagine how he feels having gained his freedom, at least for now.”
The $10,000 bail was set by District Judge Wayne Salvant after the Texas courts overturned the charges in April. Franklin admits he was offered plea agreements while serving his time, but didn’t want to agree to any terms because he believed strongly in his innocence.
“Overturning a conviction is not an easy feat,” Schuder explains. “It takes a lot of convincing and hard work using real evidence for something like this to happen.”
Tarrant County prosecutors are not giving up on the case and say they will be taking Franklin back to trial. The district attorney’s office also says a plea bargain is not out of the question.
“It’s really about the terms of the agreement, as Franklin clearly does not want to be labeled as someone who would commit the crime for which he was charged,” Schuder concludes. “Everyone will have to wait and see what happens, but for now he is a free man.”
PCS Bail Bonds has been a part of the Fort Worth Community for two decades and continues to serve the Fort Worth community by offering bail bond services to its residents.