We need to ante up to get reform
By Brian Hicks
Let's get this straight: The guy who police say killed 15-year-old Jermel Tyler Brown was out on bail after he was arrested in the rape of an 8-year-old boy. What?
He also had just recently beaten another murder rap. And he is suspected of shooting a man in the neck Monday night.
The fact that this man was still walking the street is proof that there's something wrong with the system.
A lot of people say the Legislature is at fault for not enacting strong enough crime laws. That's the easy shot, but it's a little more complicated than that.
Many of the problems facing the Department of Corrections, the solicitors, the courts and the police all boil down to one thing: money. Between the worst budget deficits this state has ever seen, coupled with years of tax cuts, there simply is not enough cash to do all that needs to be done.
The hard truth is, if we are going to make these thugs pay, we are going to have to pay.
Outlaw bail
It's funny to think the Republican-controlled Legislature is soft on crime. If you believe that, talk to Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell, who has a great motto regarding parole for violent offenders.
"As far as I'm concerned, a murderer can walk out of prison when his victim can walk out of the cemetery," McConnell says.
McConnell says the General Assembly is on the cusp of making major changes to the way criminals are handled. It is looking at alternatives to prison for nonviolent offenders, to make room for the murdering animals who are never going to be rehabilitated.
It wants to tighten sentencing guidelines and make changes that will allow the court system to move quicker. And, perhaps most importantly, lawmakers want to outlaw bail for repeat violent offenders.
It's a shame that some lawmakers have held up these measures. They might have kept Jermel's killers off the streets.
Forget poker, bust thugs
There are problems with any overhaul to the justice system. McConnell says it's difficult to change gun-control laws without trampling on gun rights. And Corrections is already running a deficit.
But the senator says police could help by getting their priorities in order. He says it's crazy to devote manpower to speed traps that routinely catch people going 40 mph in a 35 zone, and it's a waste of personnel and time to bust up home poker games.
"It's ridiculous to spend time and effort to make sure some charity doesn't hold a raffle," McConnell says.
Amen.
The bottom line is that unless folks are willing to pay more money for criminal justice, there is not going to be the sweeping change that everyone says they want.
It would be a wise investment, one of the few things voters might be willing to pay for. They say you can't put a price on safety.
Of course, we could also make better use of what we already have. For instance, why not take that hole the inmates at Lieber recently dug and put Jermel Brown's killers down in it?
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NativeSon (anonymous) says...
What we NEED to do is kick the fecal matter out of some of our mindless judges!
July 10, 2009 at 6:22 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
sdr35hw (anonymous) says...
Too bad the courts are clogged with drug arrests. With a little hope and change we could reduce the demand side of the equation. The war on drugs is a failure.
July 10, 2009 at 7:36 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
theronce (anonymous) says...
Do I hear that the cops are the problem. If you look at your example, it appears to me that the cops arrested that bad guy, many times. Dit he serve all of his time. If not, why not, and who by name is responsible and held accountable. You can go on with this, but don't give me that bull that the cops are the problem. Poor political leadership is at the top of the problem aside from the wishy washy feel good morality of the people these days.
July 10, 2009 at 7:46 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Tammie (anonymous) says...
Out on bail after rape of an 8 year old...wtf?? Gross miscarriage of justice, he should have gotten his peen cut off.
July 10, 2009 at 8:34 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
babeegurl (anonymous) says...
They need to put the family court judges in the place of the criminal judges. Family court judges are ruthless. My husband was behind $31.00 on his childsupport(which is never behind) and was sentenced to 6 months in jail. Of course I paid the 31 plus the 150 court cost to get him out, but I think that is the most absurd thing I've ever seen! So those judges need to be the ones putting the real criminals away!
July 10, 2009 at 8:36 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
sj301 (anonymous) says...
I knew if I waited long enough, Glenn McConnell might FINALLY say something I agree with.
July 10, 2009 at 11:10 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Moontree (anonymous) says...
McConnell for Governor!
July 10, 2009 at 5:25 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
JustJennings (anonymous) says...
We have to remember that while the guy was ACCUSED of raping an 8 year-old boy, he had not been convicted. There is something about the presumption of innocence. If the cops didn't lie so much and weren't so incompetent, we could have more faith when they accuse someone. I caught a cop parking illegally in a handicapped space, and the department gave THREE different stories about it, all of which could not have been true. If they will lie about something as trivial as a parking violation, I suspect they lie about more serious matters, too. I am certainly not in favour of raping 8 year-olds, but just because a cop says it, doesn't make it so. If the accused can post the required bond, there is little else than can be done until trial.
July 10, 2009 at 5:29 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
lowcountrydawg (anonymous) says...
Eye for and eye...life for a life...it works it the Middle East.
...oh, yeah, I forgot, you'd have the damn ACLU, NAACP, and every other Alphabet Gang saying we can't do that...rehabilitate them, love them....
I'd love to rehabilitate them with my 12 gague upside their head!
July 10, 2009 at 6:52 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Duchess (anonymous) says...
Guilty untill proven innocent in my book. if theres no room in the prisons it would be nice to go ahead and excute the death row / lifer inmates. I dont want them back on my steets and apparently thy arent being rehabilitated if they're not ever going to be released. We PTS innocent dogs in the pound humanely/heck even PETA has been found to do that and thier as animal lovong as any so I dont see a problem with that solution. Who is against making room and freeing up time and money by eradicating worthless scum? If the majority rule then someone please make up the bill and I bet it wont take long to get signatures!
July 10, 2009 at 11:24 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
stephaniem (anonymous) says...
legalize pot, gambling and prostitution
also think about this:
battered women who shoot their spouses after being rountinuely hospitalized and terrorized often get more prison time than men who rape or mug someone. We need to use common sense when letting someone out. A quiet woman who stayed with an abusive man b/c she had 3 kids to feed needs more compassion than a thug who robs grocery stores
July 13, 2009 at 9:43 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
mb300sl (anonymous) says...
Bring back the road gangs...get some work out of the criminal element.
July 13, 2009 at 10:30 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
nickl (anonymous) says...
JustJennings, are you effing kidding me?!? This article is about some lowlife that is a career violent and disguting criminal and you are blaming the cops? You are one of those pathetic losers that probably keep getting in trouble and blaming everyone else. I'd love to see what would happen to your sorry butt without these police officers patrolling the streets. You always have some story about how the poice are so evil and are qick to say. Maybe these criminals aren't bad guys. Get the hell out of my state you worthless slug.
July 13, 2009 at 5:53 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
JustJennings (anonymous) says...
I am not blaming anyone. I was just stating that I have personal experience with the Charleston Police lying and that, for that reason, I would not just assume anything an officer said was the truth. Nickl, I was born in this state and don't plan to go anywhere. Why don't you "get the hell out" if being in the same state with me offends you so much?
July 13, 2009 at 7:19 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
nickl (anonymous) says...
So you beleive that it is smarter to trust a child rpaer and a murder than a Charleston Police officer that is sworn to protect their citizens. That deal with crap for pay for ungratefuly little turds like you. If you intend to stay then fine, then learn to shut up and appreciate what you have that is paid for by better people than yourself. I.E. our police depts. No I'm not a police officer (though I have strongly considered it with my background) but I am a strong supporter of anyone that chooses to put their lives on the line for a job protecting the ungrateful that would rather bitch about their existence. Just think of how screwed up we would be without them before you go "assuming" crap like that. I'm sure you know the old saying about the word "assume".....
July 14, 2009 at 4:34 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
JustJennings (anonymous) says...
Nickl, When did I say, "it is smarter to trust a child rpaer and a murder than a Charleston Police officer?" Perhaps you should learn to spell "raper" (which would more properly be "rapist") and "murderer" before thinking you are smart enough to make decisions about my life for me. I shall continue to speak out as I am entitled to Freedom of Speech in spite of what some "little turds like you" may think. Actually, I don't assume ANYTHING. I just don't believe everything a cop says just because he is SUPPOSED to be one of the good guys. I know they often do LIE. Have you read about the cops in Atlanta planting drugs on the 92 year-old woman to justify shooting her by mistake? Or about Earl Washington who spent 18 years on death row based on false evidence planted by a cop while the real killer went free? There are good cops and bad cops, just as there are good and bad private citizens. That is why we have trials to find out the truth. When you are appointed dictator, I shall be more than glad to move.
July 14, 2009 at 10:51 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
nickl (anonymous) says...
JustJennings, you make a ONE good point. Perhaps, I should actually proofread my typos. But your posts state differntly than your last one. You have said continuously that police can't be trusted and should have almost blatently implied that we should trust a RAPIST and a MURDERER over our own Police. And YOU are lying. You have assumed. You ASSUMED that the police are lying simply because they are police. I'm sorry, you must be right. There is no way this poor innocent person could have done something so brutal as murder even if he does have a rap sheet longer than most books that you have read. It has to be the fault of those evil police officers who do nothing but prey on the innocent. (*note the sarcasm). No need for appointing me as dictator. I wouldn't want the job. Who would want to be in charge of retards like you? This criminal can hardly be thought of as anything but bad..yet you want to blame the police officers? That is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. Unfortunately you are right in that there is little that can be done if the accused is able to post bail. However, The complaint by most of the people is that he should not be given the opportunity to have bail. He has proven time and time again that he cannot be trusted to obey the law. He is a career violent criminal and should be treated as such.
July 14, 2009 at 8:06 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
CharlestonTimes (anonymous) says...
Two things: This is a grudge shooting, just one more in a string that goes back 6 years.
The other thing: Leagalize pot. The only people I know who are vehemently against this idea are those who know nothing about it. The problem is that kids are told that it's the same as crack.
It's not, but once that lie is told, all else is suspect.
July 15, 2009 at 8:13 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
JustJennings (anonymous) says...
nickl, Please work on your reading comprehension as well as proofreading. I never said I thought these people were innocent - just that you can't always trust what the police say.
July 15, 2009 at 8:39 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Dharma (anonymous) says...
I entirely agree with Stephaniem.
I read a lot of comments about getting tough with the murderers on death row and so on, but we need to remember that when we grant the state the power to take the lives of its citizens, it's a dangerous road we travel.
There have been quite a few stories lately of inmates being exonerated by DNA evidence after spending years in prison. It's only a matter of time before this happens in connection with an executed prisoner. If we accidentally take the life of ONE innocent citizen in our haste to rid our society of predators, then it is we who are guilty of murder.
I have served on juries. I will tell you that several of my fellow jurors just wanted to convict so they could get out of there and get on with their lives.
Prosecutors are more often concerned with advancing their careers than obtaining justice. Some will bend whatever rules necessary to win a conviction.
The United States already imprisons more of its citizens than any other country (the People's Republic of China ranks second with 1.5 million, while having four times our population.) We need to be very cautious about what powers we give the state. George Washington once warned, "Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master."
July 19, 2009 at 12:33 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
squirt16oz (anonymous) says...
Why bother to say anything...until we throw the criminals at the top out, it won't do any good! Things are gonna get far worse....far worse.
July 20, 2009 at 8:48 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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