Violent Criminals, Prison Cutbacks and the Women Who Suffer The Consequences

When the front page of the Orange County Register listed an article concerning cutbacks in the prison system which will ultimately result in fewer sentences being carried out and more instances of probation and parole, alongside one about a woman badly beaten by the same man who'd just been paroled for beating her before, my stomach dropped.

Once again, the system operating under the auspices of service, protection and justice had failed; and right there in black and white was evidence that the intention was to do even less about it. While low-level drug offenders convicted of possession (NOT trafficking -- that's another beast entirely) have nearly a 100% remand rate, it's horrifying that violent offenders enjoy instant freedom.

Last month, the man convicted of over half the felonies and several of the misdemeanors for imprisoning me and beating me senseless for hours, an incident from which I narrowly escaped with my life on a fluke, was set free on 5 years probation. 3 D.A.'s later, 8 continuations of the trial, 4 "No Contact" order violations recorded, and this guy's out due to the cutbacks and overcrowding mentioned in the Register.

The victim's advocate at the District Attorney's office warned me several times in the months prior to trial, that I should "prepare" myself for the fact that even 30 year sentences were often given probation for this reason. Her words held no resonance with my soul until I received the shocking news that, three weeks after the trial, this man is, for no conceivable reason than to harass or harm me, living in the city that I've made my home.

Having paid virtually zero penance for despicable and illegal acts of violence, he has learned that he can get away with this sort of behavior.

I'm sure that the woman in the article plead with the police and probation department to keep that man far away from her. I'm sure they told her what they told me: their hands were tied until and unless he actively violated the protective "no contact" orders. I'm sure you realize that means he's pretty much in your face, and your only protection is a silly piece of paper saying he's not supposed to do that "or else."

Or else what?

Another slap on the wrist? The inconvenience of appearing in court? A few days in the ole slammer?

Apathy born of ignorance is at work here. All of the people I've interacted with in the year plus since this nightmare began believed whole-heartedly that there was no way this man would be released. Everyone in contact with the situation was certain that he'd pay some price. Right up until the day he was released and the VINE service called to alert me of the status change, we had faith in the system to punish this man for attempted murder, imprisonment, rape and battery.

Now, I'm not advocating drug use; but I am saying that it is horrendous to think that it is more acceptable to batter women than to use elicit chemicals on one's own body. Doing harm to someone else ought to have graver consequence than committing crimes against one's own health. But that's just me.

Comments

[jc747]

HuffPost's Pick

It literally blows my mind the lack of "(Sotomayor's) empathy" that those in authority have about this issue. I (and, I would suppose, any rational human being) would rather give up my possessions under threat of being beaten up than to be unnecessarily beaten up in order to gain those possessions. My stuff can be replaced; extensive damage to my physical health can not. So I say, in any budgetary or overcrowding crisis, at any prison, those who are properly convicted of committing non-violent crimes should always be released or have their sentences reduced BEFORE YOU EVEN LOOK AT properly convicted stalkers, assaulters, rapists and all other violent prisoners. Let them serve their FULL SENTENCES. If you have run out of non-violent offenders in the population, and the crisis continues, THEN the authorities should ONLY REDUCE THE SENTENCES of the violent prisoners in some sensible order, starting first maybe with simple assaulters, then, AND ONLY THEN, maybe robbers, and so on. That’s how it should go.

[offred]

HuffPost's Pick

The women should exercise their second amendment rights: buy guns, take lessons to use them, take self-defense lessons, and decide that they'll do what it takes to defend themselves against these men.

And I'm actually an advocate of stricter gun laws. Sometimes, there's no reasoning with these kinds of men.

[MerhabaAbi]

HuffPost's Pick

The war on drugs has resulted with the destruction of viable penalties to real criminals.