George Aldridge, photo by Fayette County Detention Center, and is a public record.
On August 28, 2023, we noted the case of George Wayne Aldridge, previously accused of three sexual assaults in Lexington then being charged in a cold case from Louisville as well. Our August story concerned his bail reduction from $150,000 to $50,000.
The Eighth Amendment to the Constitution specifies that “Excessive bail shall not be required, but Mr Aldridge was unable to make the reduced bail amount, either. And that brings us to the present. From the Lexington Herald-Leader:
Lexington survivor terrified, ‘disgusted’ that alleged ‘serial rapist’ could be released
by Taylor Six | Monday, July 1, 2024 | 8:56 AM EDT
For the past 15 years, a Lexington woman who was kidnapped and sexually assaulted near her State Street home said she has feared for her life as the person who attacked her remained free.
The survivor said her life has been affected in every way possible since that day in 2009. Her mental health has deteriorated, and her ability to work and her relationships have been negatively affected.
In 2023, when 54-year-old George Wayne Aldridge was arrested after DNA tied him to five sexual assaults across Kentucky, the trauma resurfaced, and the woman was diagnosed with PTSD-induced fibromyalgia.
There was relief that justice could prevail with the man accused of attacking her now behind bars, she said.
But now, Aldridge could go free a year after he was arrested if his bond is lowered in the three counties where he faces these sex crimes allegations. His bond has already been lowered or dropped in two of those counties.
“This has impacted my life in numerous and enormous ways, and I despise that,” the woman said.
Read more here.
Taylor Six’s article continues to tell us how DNA has connected Mr Aldridge to several other crimes, and notes that Judge Julie Muth Goodman has had some controversial rulings in the past, and that the unidentified victim cited in the article is extremely worried about Mr Aldridge perhaps being able to make the $5,000 cash required for release.
But here’s the part that concerns me. The Eighth Amendment specifies that “Excessive bail shall not be required,” which means that the accused has a right to a bail he can reasonably hope to make. George Wayne Aldridge has been locked up since February 3, 2023, 16 months ago, but he has yet to be convicted of any crime.
As horrible as the crimes of which he has been accused are, he is already being punished for them without having been tried and convicted of them. The fault for this is not the judge, but the fact that he has been locked up for over a year, and the Commonwealth has not yet brought him to trial. The Sixth Amendment guarantees the right to a speedy trial, and the cited article told us of no specified court date to bring Mr Aldridge to trail, though a status hearing date of July 18th was indicated. If the Commonwealth was ready to bring Mr Aldridge to trial, and this was delayed by motions by the defense, then Mr Aldridge has, in effect, waived his right to a speedy trial, but Miss Six’s article made no mention of such having occurred.
Prosecutors have alleged that Mr Aldridge is a flight risk, citing a recorded jailhouse phone call in which he told his family that if he ever gets out, he’s leaving and not coming back. That was sixteen months ago, and is important, but we’ve reached the point at which the Commonwealth needs to bring him to trial, now, because he has been imprisoned for crimes of which he has never been convicted.
If he’s convicted, then he should be sentenced to enough time that he never, ever gets out of prison in anything other than a coffin. But, as of now, he hasn’t been brought to trial at all.