Prior to conviction, a person charged with other than a capital offense is entitled to bail as a matter of right. The right is not affected by the fact that a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity has been entered, unless this was done without a showing being made of such facts as justify it. Although for the safety of the individual or protection of society it might be proper to deny bail in some instances[i].
A trial court has no power to read into the constitutional provision that “all persons shall be bailable,” except for capital offenses, where the trial court sets bail and later orders that bail be entirely denied because of the petitioner’s plea of not guilty by reason of insanity[ii].
Moreover, it is not arbitrary or unconstitutional to commit a defendant charged with murder in the second degree for a reasonable length of time to a mental hospital for examination. Such commitment does not violate the defendant’s right to bail, where he/she raises the defense of insanity[iii].