Here’s A Surprise

A Minnesota gang member named Angel Hernandez, who was ordered to attend college at the University of Minnesota as punishment for making terroristic threats on behalf of his gang, is flunking out. Actually, Hernandez’ history hasn’t been very good: he violated the terms of his probation by dropping out of school in 2001. Not to worry, however–the state gave him another chance. He re-enrolled, but failed three classes and dropped a fourth last fall. That still didn’t exhaust the state’s patience, and the Court is awaiting Hernandez’ most recent grades before deciding what to do with him. It doesn’t look good, however; Hernandez’ probation officer says Hernandez “isn’t amenable to attending college.” What a shock.
When Hernandez was sentenced to college two years ago, the Minnesota Daily hailed the sentence, saying that “Crowell [the prosecutor] and other critics need to understand the need for more progressive solutions.” I suspect that the average voter’s patience with “progressive solutions” ran out some time ago, which is why the state now has a Republican Governor and a Republican-controlled House, and will soon have a Republican-controlled Senate.