Crime & Consequences

Monthly Archive: November 2024

New York Governor Mimics Newsom on Early Inmate Releases

by · Nov 25, 2024 3:38 pm

In the wake of a November 18 Manhattan stabbing spree by a habitual criminal that left three people dead, New York Congressman Ritchie Torres has targeted New York Governor Kathy Hochul as the “New Joe Biden,” for allowing the murderer’s early release. Michael Ruiz of Fox News reports that Congressman Torres, a Democrat, was referring to 51-year-old Ramon Rivera, who had eight priors, before the state’s Department of Corrections released him early from the psych ward at Bellevue Hospital for good behavior, somehow forgetting that while there he assaulted a corrections officer.

Continue reading . . .

Santa Clara County Judges Line Up with DA on Death Sentence Reversal

by · Nov 21, 2024 10:58 am

Ron Matthias and Dolores Carr have this op-ed in the San Jose Spotlight with the above title.

Since August, local judges have been nullifying murderers’ death sentences one by one. But there’s a problem: The law the judges have been relying on to reduce those death sentences doesn’t apply to death sentences. And that’s not the only problem.

It’s easy for judges to make mistakes when they’re hearing only one side of the story, and that’s what happened here. The reductions are coming at the insistence of Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen, who has recently discovered he doesn’t like capital punishment. Unsurprisingly, the murderers feel the same way.

California law has a serious problem with statutes that effectively enable prosecutors to nullify existing sentences when they simply disagree with the law under which the perpetrator was properly sentenced years before. An initiative is sorely needed to fix this and other related problems, building on the success of the effort to enact Proposition 36 this year.

Continue reading . . .

Matt Gaetz Withdraws Bid to Become Attorney General

by · Nov 21, 2024 10:31 am

Matt Gaetz, the lightning-rod Florida Congressman nominated by President-elect Trump for Attorney General, has withdrawn his name from  consideration by the Senate. Melissa Quinn of CBS News reports that Gaetz issued this statement on social media this morning: “While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition.” Gaetz resigned his House seat last week following his nomination, but questions about his qualifications and and a yet unreleased report by the House Ethics Committee on alleged sexual misconduct and drug use put his confirmation at risk. Hopefully, the President-elect will take this opportunity to nominate a strong conservative with recognized legal scholarship and a better understanding of the workings of the Department of Justice. Senator Ted Cruz comes to mind.

Laken Riley Killer Gets LWOP

by · Nov 20, 2024 2:53 pm

The illegal alien who brutally murdered 22-year-old coed Laken Riley last February has been sentenced to life-without-the-possibility-of-parole (LWOP). Steven Vago and Chris Nesi of the New York Post report that Venezuelan gang member Jose Ibarra showed no emotion as Clark County Judge Patrick Haggard announced his sentence. Ibarra ended up in the college town of Athens, Georgia six months before murdering Riley after the Biden Administration flew him there at taxpayers’ expense from JFK airport in New York City.  He was in the U.S. illegally thanks to the Biden/Harris open border policy.

Continue reading . . .

Newsom Declines Menendez Brothers Clemency Request

by · Nov 19, 2024 11:50 am

California Governor Gavin Newsom has decided to postpone a decision on clemency for the two brothers sentenced to life without parole for murdering their parents in 1989. Michael Ruiz of Fox News reports that Erik and Lyle Menendez had asked Newsom to grant their request ahead of a December 11 resentencing hearing in LA Superior Court requested by District Attorney George Gascón. Gascón took up the brothers’ petition for resentencing last month as a publicity stunt he thought would help his reelection campaign. He was mistaken. Challenger Nathan Hochman defeated Gascón by a 2 to 1 vote on November 5. In a statement to the press Newsom said that he will “defer to the DA-elect’s review and analysis of the Menendez case prior to making any clemency decisions.”

Continue reading . . .

New LAPD Chief Wants More Reporting of Crime

by · Nov 18, 2024 9:20 am

Speaking of a new day in LA, former County Sheriff Jim McDonnell is now the City Chief of Police. Richard Winton reports in the LA Times that the new chief expressed concern that the actual crime rate is higher than the official figures show because the people are reporting fewer of the crimes that are committed. This is a problem with crime statistics that we have noted many times on this blog.

Crime is trending down in Los Angeles, with homicides alone on track to fall 15% compared to last year, but newly sworn-in LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell is concerned that statistics aren’t telling the full story.

Speaking ahead of the ceremony Thursday to mark his arrival as the city’s 59th chief of police, McDonnell voiced concern about the perception of disorder — and the reality that crimes are going unreported because some believe nothing will be done to investigate. Continue reading . . .

A New Day Dawns in LA

by · Nov 18, 2024 9:02 am

LA DA-elect Nathan Hochman will be sworn in on December 2. Fox 11 has this story.

On day one in office, Hochman said he would eliminate Gascón’s extreme pro-criminal policies. Hochman said Gascón’s policies have led to a rise in crime throughout the county.

As DA, Hochman said his goal is to empower law enforcement, prosecutors, victim groups, store owners, and residents in LA County.

“They’re fed up with their cars being broken into, their homes being robbed. If they’re store owners with their stores being ransacked. And they want to bring back accountability. They wanted proportional, they wanted smart, they wanted common sense. They want the law enforcement officers to do a good job, but they want them to do that job,” Hochman said. Continue reading . . .

Racial Variation in Recent Changes in Victimization

by · Nov 14, 2024 10:45 am

The Council on Criminal Justice has a report by Thaddeus Johnson titled Violent Victimization is Decreasing–But Not for Everyone. The thrust of the report is based on the one-year changes in the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) between 2022 and 2023.

New federal crime data show that nonlethal violent victimization decreased by 11% in 2023 for Americans aged 12 and older. But while the rate of robberies, aggravated assaults, and rape/sexual assaults fell for White and Hispanic people, it moved in the opposite direction for Black Americans.

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Victimization rates for Black Americans increased 37% from 2022 and 2023, driven by a 79% increase in robbery, 47% increase in rape/sexual assault rates, and a 16% increase in aggravated assault.

We will put to one side, for now, the variations in measures, which the report notes warrant caution. Even with that caution in mind, the reported increases are alarming. What caused these numbers to move in opposite directions?

The report is mostly statistics and not a discussion of possible causes. What little it does say, though, is a head shaker. Continue reading . . .