“Prison reform” is often talked about by Democrats as something necessary to address “mass incarceration” and “equity,” among other things. In practice, that means letting violent repeat criminals out on the streets — as New York City has once again reminded us.
A 3-year-old child was sent to the hospital after being attacked by a man in New York City while the girl was riding in a wagon. That man, Christopher Elder, has a history of assaults. He allegedly assaulted a woman and her 9-year-old child in December. On that same day, he allegedly assaulted an elderly man.
Elder also allegedly stabbed his friend in the back of the neck in August 2020. According to police, he has been arrested eight times. And he has been repeatedly released without bail despite his violent history.
This has been a problem in New York City, where violent criminals repeatedly have been released to assault people over and over again. The priority in New York City? Addressing the “impacts of incarceration,” as Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said while telling staff to stop pursuing prison time for several crimes.
This has also been a problem in San Francisco and Los Angeles, where similarly ideological district attorneys have made reducing the prison population and reducing prison sentences their top priorities. The circumstances of the crimes, or the rap sheets of the criminals in question, don’t matter. What matters is arbitrarily keeping prison numbers low even if it means letting violent criminals out as soon as possible.
Elder never should have been out on the street to assault anyone, much less two children four months apart. But this is the state of criminal justice in liberal enclaves like New York City. This isn’t the first violent re-offender who has been in the news recently, and there are no indications that he will be the last either.
