The war on public safety: Judges

‘The war on cops’ is only one part of a much broader war on the safety of Minnesotans, which is being waged by people who are driven by an ideological belief that crime should not be fought. 

The so-called Minnesota Freedom Fund, which bails out violent criminals, shows how politicians and celebrities are part of this, with Minnesotans bearing the burden. So, too, are local District Attorneys who pick and choose which laws they will enforce and which ones they won’t, again with ordinary Minnesotans bearing the burden. And, if people are prosecuted and found guilty, all too often Minnesota’s judges are refusing to apply the appropriate sentences.

In July, I gave shared some examples from the excellent CrimeWatchMpls Twitter feed. Such cases keep coming, like Courvoisier Corleone Prewitt, convicted in 2017 on five violent felony counts. His sentence was stayed with a dispositional sentencing departure granted by Judge Kerry Meyer, and has been wanted on a felony probation violation warrant since March. There is also Brandon David Miller, who is charged with felony 5th degree assault for beating a homeless male outside Cub Foods on Clarence in St. Paul. Mr. Miller was stationed there on behalf of “We Push for Peace” as a supposed ‘violence diffuser,’ but he has a history of convictions on felony violent crimes with every felony conviction stayed — in three different counties. I could go on and on.

I wrote in July that:

Minnesota’s ‘revolving door courts’ are a serious problem for its residents. The vast majority of violent crime is committed by a small number of people: according to one study, one percent of the population of the United States accounts for 63 percent of all violent crime convictions. Our judges need to focus on applying the law and protecting Minnesotans from habitual criminals, not on extending them chance after chance indefinitely.

Debates on law and order in Minnesota and the Twin Cities especially often focus on policing. But that is only one part of the picture. What is the point of the police apprehending criminals if judges refuse to apply the appropriate sentences?