CA Double Murderer Gets Early Release

by · Jun 3, 2021 12:25 pm

Fox LA has this story on Howard Elwin Jones, a gang member who murdered two teenagers at a party during Christmas in 1988. One of the boys, Chris Baker, was only 17 years old, and was shot by Jones on the assumption that the red Santa hat he was wearing indicated his membership in a rival gang. Jones was sentenced to 45 years to life in prison. SB 260 was signed into law in 2013 by Gov. Jerry Brown, made Jones eligible for parole.  He had been denied twice until Jones had his third parole hearing in February by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s parole board and was found eligible for release.  The parole hearing excluded prosecutors per District Attorney George Gascon’s directive that their involvement in cases ends at sentencing. This murderer’s early release also included  Gov. Gavin Newsom’s review and approval. Jones is set to walk out from San Quentin on Monday. 

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Pew Research Has Big News on the Death Penalty

by · Jun 3, 2021 12:14 pm

Here are the opening paragraphs of this story, reported by the NYT:

For the first time in almost half a century, support for the death penalty has dipped below 50 percent in the United States.

Just 49 percent of Americans say they support capital punishment, according to a Pew Research Center poll … That represents a seven-point decline in about a year and a half. Support peaked at 80 percent in 1994.

The death penalty has had majority support among Americans for 45 years. The last time support was as low as it now stands was in 1971.

Not good news for the folks on my side of the issue.  But wait, there’s a catch.

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More Coverage on the CA Death Penalty Case

by · Jun 3, 2021 10:31 am

LA Times reporter Maura Dolan has this comprehensive piece on the California Supreme Court’s oral argument in People v. McDaniel.  The question before the court is whether or not the law requires that a jury decide beyond a reasonable doubt that a defendant should get the death penalty or life without parole, and the jury must also be unanimous in deciding the reasons for a capital verdict?  This requirement has never been part of the law or any accepted precedent.  If the court agreed, a ruling would probably throw out hundreds, if not all, previous death sentences in California.  An important takeaway from yesterday’s argument was the questioning of the murderer’s lawyer by Justice Goodwin Liu, a key liberal member of the Court, who asked if it is possible  “that this issue has simply been missed this entire time? For 150 years, we have missed this issue?”

California Supreme Court Hears Argument Challenging Death Penalty Law

by · Jun 2, 2021 11:55 am

The California Supreme Court heard oral argument today in People v. McDaniel.  Donte McDaniel was convicted in 2009 of two brutal murders and attempted murder on two others.  In 2004, McDaniel and his accomplice entered a woman’s Los Angeles apartment looking for a man who had stolen drugs from another member of the gang he belongs to, the Bounty Hunter Bloods (BHB). McDaniel began firing as he walked in the door, shooting and killing the woman, then shooting the man he was looking for  so may times in the head that his face collapsed.  He shot two other women in the apartment, not involved in the drug dispute, critically injuring them both and leaving them permanently disabled.

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Sentencing Reforms Enabling Assaults on Asians

by · Jun 1, 2021 3:06 pm

Assaults on Asians became the major media’s crime de jour around the time that Joe Biden was sworn in as President.  For months now, we have been treated with almost daily news stories about Asians being attacked, beaten and robbed, often with very disturbing video.  The way the narrative was supposed to work was that President’s Trump’s labeling of Covid-19 as the Chinavirus led the ignorant white supremacists who voted for him to attack all Asians, because they are too stupid to single out just the Chinese.  But that narrative was debunked almost immediately when government statistics indicated that most of the attacks on Asians are committed by blacks and that this has been going on for decades.  It also turns out that most of the recent attacks are by habitual criminals left on the streets by bail and sentencing reforms championed by progressives and the major media.

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In Memoriam

by · May 31, 2021 7:15 am

 

 

 

 

Let us all take a few moments this holiday to remember those who fought and died for the freedom we cherish.

LA Co. Judge Reinstates Sentencing Charges After Victims Object

by · May 28, 2021 2:41 pm

There has been a significant development in the victims’ revolt against LA DA George Gascón’s reckless policies.

Judge Rob Villeza of the East Judicial District of LA Superior Court, in Pomona, initially dismissed special circumstance allegations against Raymond Gonzalez, who is charged with two counts of murder and carjacking. The dismissal was based on a motion by the District Attorney’s Office under the DA’s special directives to never charge special circumstances and to dismiss any pending special circumstance allegations. But then the victims’ families sought reconsideration. Continue reading . . .

Will the Violent Crime Surge Spark Electoral Pushback?

by · May 27, 2021 12:16 pm

Rich Lowry writing in Politico thinks so.  His piece is titled, “Democrats Ignore the Crime Spike at Their Own Peril.”

On the anniversary of the death of George Floyd, dozens of gunshots rang out in the middle of the day at George Floyd Square in Minneapolis, forcing reporters and bystanders to duck and cover.

The symbolism was unmistakable—the yearlong bout of protest and activism after Floyd’s killing has coincided with a surge of urban crime that has made gunplay dismayingly common.

Will the electorate react in next year’s elections?

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