About Those Compassionate COVID Releases….

During this highly contagious pandemic, we need to release those held in densely packed prisons and jails in the name of simple humanity, right?  Well, sure.  Humanity, that is, for some  —  the criminal.  Not so much for others  —  the victim.

Police: Rape suspect, freed due to virus, kills his accuser in Alexandria

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A rape suspect who was released from jail in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, Ibrahim E. Bouaichi, went on to kill the woman who had accused him, police in Virginia say.

On Wednesday, July 29, officers found a woman shot to death on S. Greenmount Drive. It was Alexandria’s first homicide of the year. The victim was later identified as Karla Elizabeth Dominguez Gonzalez.

Gonzalez had testified against Bouaichi in Alexandria District Court in December. He was indicted on rape charges and jailed without bond.

When the pandemic hit, Bouaichi’s lawyers argued that he should be freed while awaiting trial because the virus endangered both inmates and their attorneys.

Circuit Court Judge Nolan Dawkins released Bouaichi on $25,000 bond, ordering him not to leave his Maryland home unless meeting with his lawyers or court officials, The Washington Post reports.

Well that was an effective order, wasn’t it?  On the other hand, how effective did Bouaichi’s lawyers, or the judge, think  —  or care  —  it was going to be?

Will this give second thoughts to the COVID release lobby?  Calls at least to re-think the program?  If so, I’ve never heard of any.  That’s because these releases are not based on evidence  —  the evidence, if anyone cared to see it, shows that a significant percentage of those released will recidivate.  The reason this fact doesn’t count is the same that other facts don’t count, either.  These release programs are not based on fact.  They’re based on a “victims-are-collateral-damage-so-that’s-how-the-cookie-crumbles” ideology.