Lenient sentencing

August 10, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff

Poll: Public opposes releasing prisoners on account of the coronavirus

Featured image As noted here, a prisoner released from an Alexandria, Virginia jail due to the Wuhan cornavirus killed the woman who testified against him on sexual assault charges. There had been no cases of the virus in that jail. In another local case, a Montgomery County, Maryland man released from jail for the same reason stabbed a 63 year old man to death. These stories prompted Fox 5 Washington to take »
August 10, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff

Our under-incarceration problem, violence against women edition

Featured image Last October, Ibrahim Bouaichi sexually assaulted Karla Dominguez with whom he reportedly had been in a relationship. He was charged with six felony counts and held without bond in an Alexandria, Virginia jail. In April, a judge, Nolan Dawkins, ordered the release of Bouaichi due to the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic. Bouaichi was 33 years old. The virus probably posed about the same threat to his health as the flu. Moreover, »
July 25, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff

The real world consequences of releasing felons early

Featured image During the debate over the First Step Act, conservatives favoring lenient treatment for felons liked to point to Texas where, supposedly, enlightened programs were rehabilitating criminals with remarkable success. These “evidence-based” programs were cited to justify shorter sentences for, and the early release of, federal felons who took various courses while incarcerated. The usually sensible Sen. John Cornyn helped lead this charge, as did Heritage Foundation. No disrespect to Texas, »
July 11, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff

“No justice, no sleep”

Featured image This week, demonstrators took to the streets of Anacostia, an area in Southeast Washington, D.C. where I was born, to protest the taking of black lives. But they weren’t protesting police misconduct. They were protesting the killing by gang members of an eleven year old boy and the lax policing of their neighborhood. The boy, Davon McNeal a budding football star, was gunned down as he was leaving a Fourth »
July 6, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff

The murder pandemic [UPDATED]

Featured image Daniel Horowitz writes: Sadly, fireworks were not the only munitions shot over the July 4 weekend. Statues weren’t the only things felled by anarchists and criminals roaming free in the streets. This weekend was a bloody one across the country, with endless shootings in America’s cities, including New York City, which was considered the safest American city for a generation. Once again, African-American victims, including a number of young children, »
July 1, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff

Report: Trump is tired of Jared’s woke sh*t

Featured image Jonathan Swan reports that President Trump has told people he regrets following some of Jared Kushner’s political advice — including supporting criminal justice reform — and will stick closer to his own instincts from now on. Swann cites three people who allegedly possess “direct knowledge of the president’s thinking.” I don’t know whether Trump is, in fact, tired of Kushner’s “woke sh*t,” as one source put it. I know I »
June 9, 2020 — Steven Hayward

Chronicles of the Crazy Time (1)

Featured image Okay, since the country has officially gone certifiably insane, I guess we’ll need a new series for short observations and news items. I could also go with “America’s Cultural Revolution” since we seem to have graduated from Marxism to full-blown Maoism, but “crazy time” strikes me as a stronger descriptive. Herewith: • Today’s sacking: the editor of Bon Appetit magazine, Adam Rapoport, because a photo of Rapoport and his wife 16 years »
June 7, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff

Our under-incarceraton problem, looting edition

Featured image During last week’s rioting, Chicago police arrested Antonio Harris for looting. He was stealing shoes from a New Balance store. Who is Antonio Harris? According to Daniel Horowitz, Harris was convicted of first-degree murder in 1999. Instead of life imprisonment, the sentence he would get in a well-functioning criminal justice system, he received a 25-year sentence. Instead of serving that sentence, as he would in a well-functioning criminal justice system, »