Jailbreak and Ohio Issue #1

art credit: uclu.org

Paul Mirengoff at PowerLineblog was considering the case of the dud bomber – what was this guy doing out on the streets and not in jail for priors.

Our Under-Incarceration Problem, Explosive Packages Edition

Inevitably, Democrats and their partners in the mainstream media want to focus on the political leanings of the man suspected of sending packages to leading leftists. However, Daniel Horowitz contends that the real story here is “jailbreak,” i.e., the failure to put criminals behind bars and keep them there.

I agree that this is a key element of the story. The suspect apparently has a lengthy rap sheet that included dealing drugs, theft, traffic violations, and battery. A close analysis of his record will likely show he should have been in jail.

This is a recurring but almost always ignored phenomenon. In one high-profile case after another, we learn that the criminal is a chronic offender with a rap sheet that, in a properly functioning society, would have mandated his incarceration at the time of his latest offense.

Yet, Democrats and too many Republicans, including some in the White House, are dead set on increasing the number of convicted felons, including dealers of drugs like fentanyl, on the streets. They want shorter sentences for such offenders and they want them released from jail early — an obvious recipe for more crime faster.

In short, the bipartisan leniency-for-felons crowd seeks to make our under-incarceration problem worse, even though doing so can only increase the occurrence of crime, including violent crime. The consequences of this perverse policy are there for all to see, but the leniency crowd averts its eyes.

This line of reasoning also relates to Ohio Issue #1, on the ballot in just over a week. Issue #1 would reduce penalties for drug offenses. An earlier CTP blog quoted Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor’s views on Issue 1. Click here.   

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