Milwaukee County’s district attorney, who has come under fire in the wake of the Waukesha Christmas parade massacre, “guaranteed” that progressive sentencing reforms he championed would result in someone ending up back on the streets who would kill.
In a 2007 interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that has subsequently come to light, John Chisholm said the reforms he was pushing to divert perpetrators of nonviolent crimes away from prison time and toward rehabilitation programs would result in someone’s death.
“Is there going to be an individual I divert, or I put into treatment program, who’s going to go out and kill somebody? You bet,” Chisholm said. “Guaranteed. It’s guaranteed to happen. It does not invalidate the overall approach.”
HUNDREDS GATHER FOR VIGIL IN WAUKESHA AFTER CHRISTMAS PARADE ATTACK
Darrell Brooks, who has a lengthy criminal record, is accused of killing five people and injuring more than 40 at the parade on Sunday. He had been released two days before the rampage on only a $1,000 bail. Brooks was in custody because he allegedly ran over his child’s mother with a car earlier this month.
In a statement Monday, Chisholm said his office had launched an investigation into why Brooks was released for that amount of money.
“The State’s bail recommendation in this case was inappropriately low in light of the nature of the recent charges and the pending charges against Mr. Brooks,” Chisholm wrote Monday. “The bail recommendation in this case is not consistent with the approach of the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office toward matters involving violent crime, nor was it consistent with the risk assessment of the defendant prior to setting of bail.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Chisholm has received praise for his efforts to lower the incarceration rate of black people. It’s unclear if Brooks, a black man, benefited from this initiative.
