#120 Musings Beyond the Bunker (Wednesday August 18)
Good morning,
I have written in the past about the failings of our criminal justice system. We have some serious issues to address in a number of areas, including:
Prosecutors using their power to push people into plea bargains
The right of the police to lie in order to obtain a confession
The spate of acts of police violence and inappropriate force, particularly (although not exclusively) against Black men
The ridiculously long sentencing guidelines that provide mandatory sentences, often tying judges’ hands
The “felony murder” rule, which condemns people to first degree murder convictions who did not “pull the trigger” and are sentenced merely because they were involved in a related felony
Disproportionate sentencing for similar crimes (crack cocaine versus powder cocaine)
Preoccupation with “victims’ rights” and greater sentencing or denial of parole merely because of the feelings of the victims and/or their families, rather than achieving justice
Prosecutors’ failure to share exonerating evidence (which should be a crime and/or should lead to immediate disbarment, at a minimum) and unwillingness to seek overturning verdicts when evidence comes out that clearly indicates innocence
Overcrowding of prisons
The continued incarceration and punishment of the mentally ill
A penal system that is concerned more with retribution than with rehabilitation
A parole system that places emphasis on the opinions of the prosecution and victims’ families rather than the sufficiency of the sentence and good behavior.
Of course the greatest thing that can reduce crime is an educational system that prepares people for productive lives, an economic system that employs more people in remunerative jobs, and better mental health care for those who struggle on the fringe of our society. These are problems that are long-term and will require long term, persistent effort to make right. These challenges can help make the world better years down the road but it will take time.
Today, however, I want to talk about crime as it exists now. It is on the rise in most American cities. In California alone, homicides were up 31% in 2020, the third deadliest year since 2007. But this level of violent crime—rising at least in part because of more lax policing and political pressure not to detain suspects—has been most acute in Black communities. Representing only 6.5% of the population of California, victims are 31% Black, according to the Los Angeles Times. Almost ¾ of these homicides involved a gun—but my friends on the right, who believe the Second Amendment trumps First Amendment rights or issues of public safety—will ignore this correlation. And as for Los Angeles, Chief of Police Michael Moore reports a 50% increase in shooting victims in 2021 over the same period in 2020.
This rise in crime is in part the result of well-meaning liberals conflating the problems with our criminal justice system, which are sorely in need of being addressed, with the need to keep our citizens safe.
While it is true that we need to reform policing and the justice system, a society also has a duty to keep its citizens safe. Some people need to be separated from the rest of us. The reasons for why this is necessary are myriad and require far more resources and discussion. And as open-minded and liberal as people may be, they first want to be safe.
“Defund the police” is an idiotic proclamation, with no traction to achieve much, but which most assuredly will empower the far right to win elections. There is no rational basis for eliminating policing. And, much as I would hope it not so, there are certain people who cannot be permitted to wander our streets and prey upon innocent people. But the left is silent—to its peril. As Helaine Olen said in The Washington Post last month, “The denial needs to stop. The failure to engage and take on the issue of growing violence and lawbreaking now — no matter how unpleasant, distasteful or uncomfortable — will only harm the progressive agenda and potentially cause swing voters to pull the lever for Republican candidates.”
It is possible to keep our people safe while still working toward criminal justice and police reform. These goals are not mutually exclusive. But these reforms do not come from (and, in fact may be hampered by) reducing constraints on those with criminal records and/or charged with violent crimes. To think that making the streets more dangerous makes our society more moral is silly. And to believe that among the first steps of addressing the inequities in our penal system, one starts with reducing policing and not incarcerating those who are dangerous are misguided. The list of necessary reforms is long but their achievement will not be advanced by making our streets more dangerous.
BRAVO L.A. PHILHARMONIC!
We (well, I perhaps should say “we, the ‘coastal elites’”) are finally moving toward vaccination passes. New York arts institutions have moved to requiring all attendees to show evidence of vaccination (a la France): https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/new-york-city-museums-vaccine-passes-1234601670/.
The L.A. Philharmonic recently followed suit, announcing that proof of vaccination will be required at Walt Disney Concert Hall. I’m hopeful this becomes a trend and we isolate both the disease and the anti-vaxxers…
Stay safe,
Glenn
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