In Massachusetts, if you’re accused of committing a crime, the DA’s office can hold you without the right to bail for 120 days if they can show a judge that you are too dangerous to be released back into the public.

These hearings, known as “dangerousness hearings” or “58A hearings” (named after the statute), have become increasingly common in Massachusetts as prosecutors have observed their success in other counties and chosen to use them more frequently.

In 2018, Springfield held only 53 dangerousness hearings, ranking 16th in Massachusetts for these types of cases, according to public trial records. Lawrence topped the list that year with 256 hearings.

After 2018, Lawrence, Lynn, and Fall River competed for the top spot. However, after COVID, Springfield began gaining momentum and surged to the top of the list in 2024 with 312 dangerousness hearings—a staggering 67 more than Lawrence, the next highest city.

As of 2025, Springfield remains firmly at the top of the list and shows no signs of giving up its lead anytime soon.

An increase in dangerousness hearings in a particular town or city doesn’t necessarily mean there are more dangerous people there. The decision to seek a dangerousness hearing rests with the prosecutors, so a rise in these hearings could simply mean that prosecutors are becoming more inclined to test their chances with them.

Many have argued that the 58A statute should be scrapped, claiming it’s unconstitutional. Being held without the right to bail undermines fundamental American principles of liberty and due process.

While I agree that holding someone without bail is a serious infringement on personal freedom that deserves intense scrutiny, the alternative isn’t necessarily better.

In states without statutes like 58A, the solution is often to set exorbitantly high bonds. Take Connecticut, for example—if a defendant is considered dangerous, prosecutors might allow them the option to post bail, but the amount is set so high that it’s effectively unpayable.

In practice, setting a massive bond has the same effect as denying bail altogether: in both cases, the person remains stuck in jail.

Massachusetts complicates this even further because bounty hunting is illegal, which means there’s no bail bondsman system. If your bond is set at $5,000 in Massachusetts, you have to pay the full amount yourself. In Connecticut, however, you could go to a bail bondsman and only have to come up with a fraction of that amount.

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