Monthly Archive: November 2021

Crime could become hot issue in 2022

by · Nov 29, 2021 10:41 am

Veteran California political commentator Dan Walters has this column at CalMatters with the above title. The summary reads, “Political reaction to a spate of smash-and-grab retail thefts indicates that crime could be a hot button issue in next year’s California elections.” Walters notes:

“The current governor, Gavin Newsom, has largely continued [previous Governor Jerry] Brown’s [soft] policies, unilaterally suspending the execution of murderers and proposing to shut down some prisons. It was a bit odd, therefore, to see Newsom publicly denounce lawbreakers last week after a series of smash-and-grab raids on high-end retail outlets in the San Francisco Bay Area and Southern California.”

In the home stretch, Walters has opened up a lead for understatement of the year 2021. A bit odd? Continue reading . . .

The Ahmaud Arbery Verdicts and the Felony-Murder Rule

by · Nov 24, 2021 2:11 pm

The felony-murder rule, in effect in some form in most states, is the controversial rule that if a person is killed during the commission of certain felonies, all parties to the felony are guilty of murder of that person. The rule can be harsh in some applications, and I agree that some judicious pruning is in order in many jurisdictions, but many critics want to get rid of it altogether.

Here is the WSJ’s report of the today’s verdicts in the Ahmaud Arbery case:

Travis McMichael, 35, chased Mr. Arbery with his father, Gregory McMichael, 65, and William “Roddie” Bryan Jr., 52, in two pickup trucks on Feb. 23, 2020. Travis McMichael shot Mr. Arbery three times with a 12-gauge shotgun, killing him.

Travis McMichael was found guilty on all counts, including one count of malice murder and four counts of felony murder. Gregory McMichael was found guilty of four counts of felony murder and acquitted on a charge of malice murder. Mr. Bryan was convicted on three counts of felony murder and acquitted on malice murder and an additional felony murder charge.

Two of the three would have been acquitted of murder, and convicted only of non-homicide offenses, if Georgia did not have the felony-murder rule. Continue reading . . .

Death By Sentencing Reform

by · Nov 22, 2021 1:58 pm

Six People were killed and at least 40 were injured after a 39-year-old repeat felon on parole ran down participants in Waukesha, Wisconsin’s annual Christmas Parade on Sunday.  18 of the victims are children and 10 are in intensive care.  Michael Ruiz of Fox News reports that the suspect, Darrell Brooks, Jr.  had a 50 page rap sheet of criminal charges going back two decades, and was free on bail awaiting trial on charges of battery, domestic abuse, resisting arrest and bail jumping.  Current Wisconsin law does not consider these to be serious crimes and does not hold criminals in jail who were on parole or probation when they are arrested for them.  Last February Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers, a democrat, vetoed a bill passed by the state legislature which required offenders who commit new crimes while on parole or probation to be returned to prison or jail.  In his veto message Evans expressed his support for “policies that focus on rehabilitation and reduce incarceration, particularly the over-incarceration of poor people and people of color.”  Brooks was one of the “people of color” Evans protected from over-incarceration.  Continue reading . . .

Cannabis and Mental Disorder

by · Nov 22, 2021 11:27 am

I meant to blog about this a few months ago, but time got away from me.  There is an established link between mental disorders and crime.  Of course, most people who have mental disorders do not commit crime, but the link is well established.  For many years, there has been mounting evidence that cannabis use, particularly during adolescence, increases the risk of developing schizophrenia.  There is an ongoing debate about whether this is a causal or correlational relationship.

Back in July, JAMA Psychiatry published a population-based study from Denmark.  One of the great benefits of the Nordic countries is the ability to conduct population studies due to their public health system structure.  The study, Development Over Time of the Population-Attributable Risk Fraction for Cannabis Use Disorder in Schizophrenia in Denmark, shows that as the prevalence of Cannabis Use Disorder increased, so too did schizophrenia.   As the authors conclude, the results from these longitudinal analyses show the proportion of cases of schizophrenia associated with cannabis use disorder has increased 3- to 4-fold during the past 2 decades.

Another recent study revealed a rise in congenital anomalies among newborns has been observed in Colorado and Washington since 2013, the first states to legalize adult recreational use.  We are in uncharted territory when it comes to cannabis, regardless of one’s opinion about its legal status.

Ankle Bracelets Work……..Or, Well, Even if Not So Much, We Need to Stop Being Incarceration Nation

by · Nov 19, 2021 9:31 am

Here’s the headline from the CNN story (no, not Breitbart):  “A California couple vanished after stealing millions in Covid-19 relief funds. They left a goodbye note for their three kids.”

Look, we don’t want to be too judgmental here.  The kiddies got a goodbye note! There might even be a jar of peanut butter left in the pantry.  And Covid relief has been over-hyped anyway.  Please, can we put away the sourpuss Puritanism?

Continue reading . . .

Rape? Hey, Stuff Happens.

by · Nov 18, 2021 3:00 pm

The New York Times, of all things, has a story today about the violent rape of a young teenage girl (the defendant did not contest it and pleaded guilty), followed by a sentence of zero imprisonment.  But not to worry  —  the judge determined that incarceration for Mr. Nicey was “not appropriate” after “praying” about it.

I am not making this up.  Indeed, I don’t have to make it up, since it has a good deal in common with the notorious Stanford rape case about which that same NYT was kind enough to print my op-ed, see here.  Still, in the Stanford case, at least the rapist got a token jail sentence.  I guess New York is more “enlightened.”  Criminal justice reform, dontcha know.

Continue reading . . .

Death Penalty Whumps Joe Biden

by · Nov 18, 2021 1:14 pm

Gallup has two contrasting polls out today.  One shows President Biden’s approval rating at 42%.  On crime, it’s lower than that (39% approval to 57% disapproval); perhaps citizens are not real thrilled with his Attorney General’s denominating parents as “domestic terrorists” if they voice dissent at school board meetings.

Gallup’s other news release is about its annual  death penalty poll, showing approval at 54%, which, Gallup notes, “is essentially unchanged from readings over the past four years…”

Continue reading . . .

Oklahoma Set to Execute Another Murderer

by · Nov 18, 2021 10:35 am

Oklahoma is set to execute its second murderer in four weeks as convicted murderer Julius Jones faces lethal injection later today.  The Associated Press reports that celebrities and high school students gathered at the state capital to demand that Governor Kevin Stitt grant clemency.  Jones has maintained his innocence for two decades and his case was profiled by a three-part CBS documentary produced by actress Viola Davis which suggested that an accomplice actually shot and killed businessman Paul Howell in front of his sister and two daughters on July 28, 1999.  Following his conviction and sentence Jones claimed on habeas corpus, that a 2017 study  finding that black murderers who killed white victims were more likely to be sentenced to death, suggesting that Jones, who is black, is facing execution because of his race and the race of his victim, who was white.

UPDATE:  Governor Stitt has just commuted Jones’ sentence to life without parole as reported here.

Continue reading . . .

The BLM Threat to Black Lives in New York City

by · Nov 17, 2021 11:48 am

As noted in an earlier post, a Black Lives Matter (BLM) leader in New York City has threatened riots, fire and bloodshead if Mayor-elect Eric Adams restores the police department’s 600 member Anti-Crime Unit, which was disbanded last year.  In a piece in today’s Daily Mail, Manhattan Institute scholar Heather MacDonald breaks down the impact that decision last year had on crime in the Big Apple.  The unit had for several years, removed thousands of guns from gang members on New York streets and played a critical role in controlling violent crime.  In June of 2020 after several days of BLM riots over the death of George Floyd, which ravaged the city and injured 400 officers,  Police Commissioner Dermott Shea and Mayor Bill de Blasio  “desperate to show their sympathy with the anti-cop forces” disbanded the unit.  “Though stopping and questioning suspects short of making an arrest is a constitutional power, Shea labeled such stops as `brute force.’  The fall-out from Shea’s announcement was immediate.

Continue reading . . .