Usiing Real Estate for Bail

Going through some old papers, I came upon a copy of a mortgage recorded in 2002 between the property owner and the Clerk of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts as bail for the son of the homeowners who had been charged with a crime. Here is the relevant language from the mortgage:

The purpose of the mortgage was to secure a personal bond for [defendant] in criminal case number ####, before the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts in the amount of $100,000 executed by the defendant and the mortgagors in favor of the United States of America, and to secure due observance and performance of the obligation, terms and conditions set forth in an Order Setting Conditions of Release. And pursuant to an escrow agreement made this day between the Mortgagors, the United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, and the Mortgagee, the Mortgagors hereby mortgage, with power of sale, the following parcel lying in the County of Middlesex, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and more particularly described in the following deed:

[deed parties, date and book and page].

I don't recall seeing another mortgage like this one. It is a reminder that a mortgage can be used to secure the performance of some act as well as the repayment of a debt, which is the purpose of most mortgages we encounter these days.