The tragedy doesn’t stop with the six lives lost in a downtown Sacramento shooting last Sunday. What makes this even more painful is that this killing spree could have been prevented.
No, this isn’t referring to stricter gun control measures — California gun laws are already some of the most restrictive in the nation. It was the state of California’s absurd plan to create “safer prisons” that pulled the trigger.
One of the alleged gunmen, Smiley Allen Martin (27), was arrested in 2018 for domestic violence and assault and sentenced to 10 years in prison. In February 2022, Martin was released by the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation as part of a plan to reduce the number of inmates in California’s prisons.
By releasing him early, the local government showed they didn’t care about Martin’s violent record. They didn’t care that by releasing him, they were subjecting those around him to his violent nature. They wanted to follow through with their ill-thought-out and hastily delivered plan, no matter the cost. The price ended up being six lives.
The plan to release inmates early was approved by California’s Office of Administrative Law and passed in three weeks as an emergency order. Not only are they recklessly releasing criminals, but they are also freeing them without any sort of parole supervision, whether that be through human accountability or other electronic means.
These “early release credits” are being handed out to inmates of all records, from petty thieves to “violent and repeat felons,” with the latter making up 63,000 of those eligible. Twenty thousand of those were sentenced to life sentences.
According to California gubernatorial candidate Michael Shellenberger, there is more to the story. Many of Newsom’s policies are pushed by organizations funded and supported by leftist billionaire George Soros, who, incidentally, donated $1 million during Newsom’s recall election.
In April 2021, Martin was one of the inmates proposed to be released. Sacramento County Deputy District Attorney Danielle wrote to the Board of Parole Hearings asking that Martin remain in prison due to his dangerous record, according to The Sacramento Bee.
Abildgaard voiced her concerns over Martin’s potential release saying, “Martin should not be released as he poses a significant, unreasonable risk of safety to the community.” Despite this, Martin was freed from jail in February 2022.
No surprise that only two months later, Martin was allegedly one of the gunmen who killed six people and injured 12 others. Ignoring how his laughable policies put this gunman on the street, Newsom followed the age-old sentiment and put the blame solely on guns. He tweeted, “We cannot continue to let gun violence be the new normal.”
Unfortunately, this is not the only example of felons being released to kill. In November 2021, Darrell E. Brooks plowed his vehicle through those enjoying a Christmas parade and killed six. He had been released on a $1,000 cash bond days prior.
Gerald Brevard III had been in jail for burglary and assault (among other charges) before he stalked and murdered two homeless men and injured three in New York City and Washington, D.C., in March 2022.
Fox News also reported that felons released on bond in Harris County, Texas, have collectively killed 156 people since 2018. One of those was grandmother of six Rosalie Cook, who was stabbed in a Walgreens parking lot by Randy Lewis in 2020. Lewis had been arrested 67 times and was currently out on “two personal recognizance” bonds when he killed Cook.
There is nothing to keep criminals from breaking the law and hurting others if there are no consequences for their actions. These changes to the prison system send a message loud and clear, and it isn’t a good one.
Freeing criminals before they have served their time only hurts innocent, law-abiding citizens who become defenseless targets. Instead of proposing stricter gun control measures, leftists should be rethinking their plan to let violent criminals roam free with no accountability.
The state of California is determined to make safer prisons, but what about a safer California? Every day Californians will pay the price for the sharp increase of violent criminals on the streets, and this seems to be nothing but a sunk cost to Newsom.
Source: The Federalist
