Blood on Their Hands

Woke Las Vegas Bail Fund Backed by Leftists Richard Branson, John Legend and Danny Glover Closes After Being Sued for Freeing Serial Criminal Who Tried to Murder Asian Waiter Six Days Later 

 

By Hope Sloop For Dailymail.Com 26 December 20 

A nonprofit that pays bail for arrested individuals has shut down its Las Vegas chapter after freeing a man who went on to nearly kill a waiter.  The Bail Project paid a $3,000 bail for Rawshawn Gaston-Anderson, 24 in December 2021 after he was arrested for burglary and theft. Six days later, the man opened fire on an Asian waiter, shooting him seven times. Gaston-Anderson pleaded guilty and will serve seven to 18 years in prison.................

In November 2021, Gaston-Anderson was arrested by officers for pandering and carrying a concealed carry, according to court records.  He was allowed to walk without paying bail in that arrest and was advised to stay out of trouble in the future. The very next day, he was arrested again in Las Vegas for burglary and theft. That's when The Bail Project stepped in. Less than one week after he was released, Gaston-Anderson went into a restaurant and opened fire on an Asian waiter named Chengyan Wang, shooting him 11 times and almost killing him.  Wang survived, and is now suing The Bail Project over the incident.  .............

Wang survived, and is now suing The Bail Project over the incident.  ..................Katie Poor, deputy general counsel for The Bail Project, doubled down on the organization's mission to free those who are innocent until proven guilty, even as the organization shuddered its Nevada chapter. According to The Bail Project's website, the organization believes in ending cash bail and calls the issue 'one of the defining civil rights and racial justice issues of our day.'

'Along with our bailouts and direct services, we use the power of human stories and data to make the public case for ending cash bail and investing in communities and alternatives to incarceration,' the group's website states. ....To Read More....

 My Take -  Maybe the stories they should be telling is stories of the victims this no bail insanity has caused nationwide. You just can't fix stupid.  But society can sue stupid, and Soros and his tax free organizations need to be at the top of the list.  George Soros Nonprofits Gave Tens of Millions to Anti-police Groups and Initiatives in 2021 "Tens of millions in dark money is flooding our communities, all towards initiatives that will make us and our families less safe."

Ohio Notes: Bail Reform, Ohio Supreme Court

By Rich Kozlovich

Recently one of my Ohio readers called me and asked me to publish a piece on Ohio bail reform efforts, and the next Chief Justice of Ohio's Supreme Court.  Neither of which I've written about, and haven't paid enough attention to either. 

Let's start with bail reform.  

First, we need to go to the original intent of bail.  Bail was to allow the accused freedom to find evidence, or supporters, to defend themselves against any criminal charges, and to assure they will appear for the trial.  It appears that public safety was not part of the original philosophical bent when creating bail laws.  Clearly that was mistake.  All over the country leftist nitwits in government are creating virtual no bail revolving door operations for violent criminals.   And they're committing crimes, violent crimes, almost immediately.

Report: Days After Prison Release, Chicago Man Allegedly Commits Same Crimes - Less than a week after being released from prison for punching a woman and kicking a Chicago officer, a man reportedly stands accused of doing the same things again..........Illinois that was passed by Democrats and signed by Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) is set to free from jail thousands of suspects accused of violent crimes.........“Beginning January 1, 2023, Illinois will become the first state in the nation to have eliminated cash bail — even for some of the most violent crimes. As a result, local district attorneys say they will be forced to free thousands of suspects accused of crimes like murder and kidnapping,” the report said........

The New Lawlessness Gripping America - Mindless nihilistic destruction is now tolerated by the elites.  One evening a few weeks ago, about 100 young people ransacked a Wawa convenience store in Philadelphia. The mob stole merchandise, knocked over shelves and threw food and drinks around, leaving the store looking like a natural disaster had hit it. Many got their phones out to record the madness. As chaos reigned, a young woman twerked on a counter. Fighting spilled out into the parking lot...........

is  now a nightmare of crime and violence due to their justice reform initiatives.  San Francisco is a Mess, and They're Shocked, Outraged and Terrified! Imagine That!

The Buckeye Institute recently took a position on this issue of bail reform and public safety, and while I get their press releases, and usually publish them, I didn't on this occasion because truthfully, I've not paid that much attention to writing about bail reform, and probably foolishly so.  But here's their take on Ohio Bail Reform:  The Buckeye Institute: Smart Bail Reform Will Strengthen Public Safety in Ohio saying: 

On Thursday, The Buckeye Institute testified (see full text below or download a PDF) before the Ohio House Criminal Justice Committee on the policies in House Bill 315, which would “help Ohio fix a broken cash bail system and take significant steps toward protecting the public from violent offenders.”

In his testimony, Alan B. Smith, a criminal justice fellow at The Buckeye Institute, outlined examples that tragically demonstrate that “[c]ash bail does not provide adequate public safety” and that “[u]nrepentant perpetrators out on bail still pose serious risks to the community because the posted bond is inadequate to deter crime.”

As you continue to read this piece you see they're actually supporting a higher standard for bail.  And that's public safety, and they cite examples of where cash bail did not prevent the commission of crime, even murder while free. They end saying:

Responsible bail reform will improve Ohio’s pretrial criminal justice system by retaining adequate protection for public safety, enhancing fairness across economic classes, and reducing unnecessary costs for taxpayers. House Bill 315 takes commendable strides toward each of these improvements.

Based on history and what's going on in reality, pushing for a public safety requirement for bail is hard to disagree with.  Is there a poor versus rich issue involved?  Absolutely!  Will a Constitutional Amendment be the fix?  I don't know.   

What I do think is public safety is a fundamental function of government, and if what's happening in the real world outside the court room is a failing the public's reasonable expectation of as safe an environment as possible, then something has to change to fix it.   

The Ohio Star has followed this closely, so you may wish to review their commentaries on bail reform in Ohio, which covers all the arguments, and you decide.

That brings me to the Ohio Supreme Court and redistricting.  Over the last year we've seen the court overturn every effort at redistricting presented, until the federal courts decided to end this farce, and who was at the heart of this mess?  Chief Justice Maureen O’Connor!  

While supposedly a Republican she's consistently sided with Democrats over this.  When I was involved in my industry's affairs I used to watch Supreme Court arguments on television, and thought she was pretty level headed.  I don't know what happened to her but she's gone over the edge, but there's an upside to this.  She's 71 and has to retire. Who should take her place as Chief Justice? 

A friend sent this to me regarding Sharon L. Kennedy, who currently is serving as a judge of the Ohio Supreme Court. She assumed office on December 7, 2012. Her current term ends on December 31, 2026.  There's a lot of background career stuff in what was sent to me, which is pretty impressive, but here are the things I think are important.  She states:

• As a former police officer and current Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court, I took an oath to uphold the Constitution of the United States of America, the State of Ohio, and the laws of the State. With your support, I will continue to honor the Constitution by upholding the law, not creating it or legislating from the bench.
• When judges start tinkering or meddling in the law, no one can gauge what the law is. I am not a law maker. I uphold the law.

What I don't like: 

• I still believe in what I’ve seen on the streets, in my role as a judge and a lawyer — the youth is where we need to target to break the cycle of criminal behavior. 
• There was a family in Butler County that had four children. Three went to prison, but the fourth didn't. So what made the difference? That fourth child had a teacher and a coach who took a daily interest in him. You open a door, and it opens another one.

While I agree with her philosophical views and evaluation on this, the fact is that's dealing with social construct, and that's not the responsibility of the courts.  That belongs to the executive and legislative branches of government.  However, it does seem to appear she understands that.

Some Information From Greenwich Village On The Upcoming Election

October 23, 2022Francis Menton  @ Manhattan Contrarian

Here in ultra-progressive Greenwich Village, there is no such thing as a Republican running a competitive race for an office at any level — local, city-wide, state or federal. The only contests are between the left and the far left, or maybe the far, far left. All local and city-wide races are decided in the Democratic primary, and generally the Republicans do not even field candidates for the State Legislature and City Council races.

All of which makes the current issue of our local community newspaper, West View News, so remarkable. It is unlike any issue of this or any other local newspaper in this neighborhood that I have seen in an election season at any time in my nearly 50 years living here.

West View News (“The Voice of the West Village”) is a monthly (or so) rag published as basically a one-man operation by a local character named George Capsis. It does not overly emphasize political issues, certainly not national ones, and it does a very conscientious job covering local matters like new real estate developments, stores opening and closing, landmarks preservation, transit, hospitals, local public schools, and the like. It also covers crime, but until recently we haven’t had much of that for a long time. To the extent it dabbles in the political, it is with an emphasis on the local, and, at least until now, always taking the standard progressive side of the issue — rent control good, landlords bad, pro gay rights, all hospitals must be kept open forever at taxpayer expense, etc. I have been reading this thing for decades, and I cannot remember them ever having one good word to say about a Republican.

And now we come to the current (October 2022) issue. The election is set for November 8. All statewide races are on the ballot — Governor, Attorney General, and Comptroller — as well as the State Assembly and State Senate. (City races occur in the odd years.)

The entirety of page 14 of this issue is devoted to a piece promoting Republican Lee Zeldin for Governor. The headline is “Lee Zeldin for Governor: What New York Voters Should Know.” The author is a young woman named Anastasia Kaliabakos, identified as a current senior at Holy Cross College. Although not stated, it is likely that the young Ms. Kaliabakos is either a relative or family friend of Capsis. So is this piece an official endorsement of the Republican candidate by West View News? You could certainly read the headline that way. The piece itself does not go quite that far, but close. The first two-thirds of it are devoted to a favorable review of Zeldin’s background and record in the U.S. military, state legislature, and Congress. Then this summary sentence:

His past accomplishments in the State Senate and Congress make him a very well-rounded candidate, and he will undoubtedly bring much to the table if he is elected in November.

And finally a quote from Democratic New York City Council member (from Queens) Robert Holden, who has endorsed Zeldin:

“Just look at the current condition of New York City and New York State: There’s mayhem in our streets, in our courts, in our jails… We’re headed in the wrong direction. The handwriting is on the wall. Lee Zeldin is the best option for voters.”

The paper contains no comparable article saying anything favorable (or unfavorable) about Zeldin’s opponent, incumbent Kathy Hochul.

Next up is even more remarkable. Our State Senate district is number 27. It has been held by a guy named Brad Hoylman for 10 years, he having been the chief of staff to the prior guy and having succeeded to the office by divine right when that guy retired at the end of 2012. As usual Hoylman has no Republican opponent in this election. However, he is being challenged by another Democrat named Maria Danzilo, now running on a third party line. Danzilo ran against Hoylman in the Democratic primary in August, and got a respectable 27% of the vote in that very low turnout election where only the leftmost of the left show up. And then, Danzilo didn’t give up. She got herself an endorsement by something called the Parent’s Party, and apparently got sufficient signatures to get herself on the ballot.

And lo and behold, here we have the entirety of page 15 of West View News devoted to a piece mostly supporting the Danzilo candidacy. The author is Jason Curtis Anderson, and the headline is “Cast Your Ballot To Reduce West Village Crime.” The piece points out that Hoylman (as you might suspect for a guy with ultra-progressive views holding an ultra-safe seat) is one of the principal authors of our bail “reform” legislation, with more similar stuff in the works if he gets re-elected:

Brad Hoylman, the proud father of the bail reform bill is running to be your local Senator and has more criminal justice bills in the pipeline. One of those bills is the Clean Slate Act, which would prevent landlords from being able to run criminal background checks on new tenants, helping them gain more access to NYC real estate.

Anderson comes right out and advocates a vote for Danzilo:

If you oppose Brad and his pro-criminal legislation, now is your opportunity to vote for Maria Danzilo, a common-sense Democrat with deep roots in the West Side of Manhattan.

And for good measure Anderson then advocates a vote for the Republican candidate in the race for Attorney General:

Another place you can make a difference is the Attorney General race, where Michael Henry is running against incumbent Tish James. Tish James also supported the bail reform bill and has made no effort to address the increase in crime New Yorkers have experienced during her tenure as AG.

The Anderson piece is accompanied by this photograph by photographer Maggie Berkvist:

Ms. Berkvist is an elderly lady who regularly provides photographs to West View News, and happened to be present at the event shown in this picture. From the original article accompanying the picture, which ran on July 8, 2022:

WestView captures theft in action. As WestView photographer Maggie Berkvist steadied her camera to photograph her dining companions in the outdoor shed of the Left Bank restaurant on Greenwich at Perry Street, four motorbikes roared up and demanded of the two white-shirted pedestrians their valuables and then roared off.

Even the oldest liberals can finally get mugged by reality.

I would think that Ms. Danzilo’s race against Hoylman is a long shot, although with much higher turnout in this election, and Republicans and Independents included, she may actually have a chance. As to Zeldin, if he can get close to 40% in New York City, he’s going to win. That is looking more and more likely.

If the blue wall is weakening even in its most solid sections, like Greenwich Village, that has to be a good omen for the country as a whole.