SANTA ANA, CA- On Friday, December 11th, an Orange County Superior Court judge ordered Sheriff Don Barnes to reduce the inmate population at the county jails by half because of COVID-19 concerns.
Out of the 700 inmates being considered for release, 59 are in for murder, 39 for attempted murder, and 90 for child molestation and a litany of other crimes, Sheriff Barnes said. https://t.co/98q81PELG7
— CBS Los Angeles (@CBSLA) December 15, 2020
Superior Court Judge Peter J. Wilson issued the order in response to a lawsuit that was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on behalf of the inmates, some of who have already been released, claiming they were particularly at risk due to underlying health conditions.
Sheriff Barnes said in a statement:
“We are evaluating the order, its impacts and our options for appeal. If the order stands, it will result in the release of more than 1,800 inmates.”
Daisy Ramirez, jails conditions and policy coordinator at the ACLU of Southern California, said in a statement:
“This victory belongs to the incarcerated people who had the courage to speak out about Sheriff Barnes’ failed response to COVID-19. Their resistance and leadership will save lives, as Orange County Hospitals are currently nearing capacity.”
She added:
“The court’s decision to alleviate the pressure on the jail by depopulating will help prevent the medical infrastructure, in the jail and in the surrounding community from becoming totally overwhelmed.”
BAD NEWS: A judge in Orange County, CA ordered “medically vulnerable” murderers and rapists to be released from jail because of the pandemic.
GOOD NEWS: Sheriff Don Barnes dismissed the judge’s orders and refused to release them.
— Ben Owen (@hrkbenowen) December 15, 2020
Barnes reiterated:
“Many of these inmates are pre-trial status for or have been convicted of violent crimes and will be released back into the community.”
Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer criticized the order, saying:
“It will release dangerous and violent criminals back into our neighborhoods to commit more crimes and victimize people.”
A Superior Court judge on Friday ordered Sheriff Don Barnes to reduce Orange County's jail population by half to allow for more social distancing among inmates during the COVID-19 pandemic. https://t.co/WNg8nxNcVy
— Spectrum News 1 SoCal (@SpecNews1SoCal) December 12, 2020
However, Jacob Reisberg of the ACLU claims that Barnes has options “beyond the unconditional” release of inmates. He said:
“It’s not like people just get dropped off outside the jail. Don Barnes has the option of moving people or basically setting them up with ankle monitors. So, there can be safety there as well.”
ACLU attorney Corene Kendrick said:
“It’s not rocket science on how to do it.”
The judges ruling comes as Barnes contends with a new outbreak of COVID-19 in the jails this past week. On Thursday, December 10th, he announced that there were 102 inmates infected with COVID-19. That number reportedly increased to 138 by Friday, December 11th. Of those, 27 were newly booked inmates and 11 were in general population.
The Orange County Superior Court today ordered Sheriff Don Barnes to reduce jail populations by 50% in an effort to prevent further spread of COVID-19 https://t.co/jN5zIh11wa
— CBS Los Angeles (@CBSLA) December 12, 2020
Barnes said in a statement:
“The order to cut the jail population by half puts our community at substantial risk and does not take into account the impact on the victims of these crimes, many of which were violent offenses.”
In total, 691 Orange County inmates have tested positive for COVID-19 since the first positive inmate was reported on March 24th. Of those, only two inmates have been hospitalizes and none have died.
A California judge Friday ordered jail officials in Orange County to reduce its prisoner population in half after guards failed to enforce social distancing guidelines, @latimes reports. https://t.co/b8IyIEyShp
— The Marshall Project (@MarshallProj) December 14, 2020
County lawyers told the judge that such an outbreak would be impossible at the jail, calling it safer than anywhere else in Orange County, where COVID-19 cases have been surging along with the rest of California.
The jails have a capacity of 6,159, but the inmate population is currently at 3,628 after precautions taken by Barnes. Allegedly, the sheriff was ordered to file a plan with the court no later than December 31st, detailing how the reduction has been achieved and how the county plans to keep the inmate population at a lower density.
A CA court has ordered the crowded Orange County Jail’s inmate population to be reduced by half out of concern for coronavirus safety.
The sheriff says he’s worried about the safety of the general public if more than 1,800 violent inmates are released.https://t.co/RNZRRerMGE
— Harrison Krank (@HarrisonKrank) December 15, 2020
The court also ordered the jail to continue to take all necessary measures to ensure social distancing until the “current COVID-19 emergency is declared terminated.” Cassandra Stubbs, director of the ACLU’s Capital Punishment Project said in a statement:
“This order will save lives. We have seen again and again in this suit and in similar litigation around the country, corrections officials have not taken the necessary steps to protect incarcerated people from the spread of COVID-19 nor have they been honest about the circumstances and risk levels in the facilities.”
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Police: Rape suspect released from jail over health concerns, hunts down accuser and kills her
August 8th, 2020
ALEXANDRIA, VA– According to authorities, a rape suspect released from jail amid the coronavirus pandemic has killed the woman who accused him.
The Washington Post reports that back in October 2019, Ibrahim E. Bouaichi was accused and indicted on charges including rape, sodomy, strangulation, abduction, and burglary after the victim, Karla Dominguez testified against him in court.
She described the night of the incident as violent and non-consensual.
Bouaichi was jailed without bond, but months later when the coronavirus pandemic hit, Bouaichi’s lawyers, Manuel Levia and Frank Salvato argued that the virus was a danger to both inmates and their attorneys.
They argued that Bouaichi should be freed awaiting trial.
Police in Virginia say that a rape suspect released from jail in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic went on to kill the woman who had accused him. https://t.co/LRtHVUURW3
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) August 7, 2020
According to reports, on April 9th, against the objections of an Alexandria prosecutor, Circuit Court Judge Nolan Dawkins released Bouaichi on a $25,000 bond, with the condition that he only leave his Maryland home to meet with his lawyers or pretrial services officials.
Police in Virginia said that on July 29th, Bouaichi, 33, returned to Alexandria and shot and killed Dominguez outside of her apartment in the city’s West End.
After the tragic killing, authorities could not find Bouaichi, so they issued a video news release asking for the public’s help in locating him. Authorities declared him “armed and dangerous.”
HORRENDOUS outcome of releasing a VIOLENT criminal suspect from a Virginia jail so he wouldn’t be infected by COVID-19.https://t.co/dYAXdLx8CU
— GretchenInOK (@GretchenInOK) August 7, 2020
On Wednesday morning, federal marshals and Alexandria police spotted and pursued Bouaichi in Prince George’s County. During the pursuit, he crashed his vehicle and allegedly shot himself, leaving him in serious condition.
The coronavirus pandemic caused many civil liberties advocates to call for the release of large numbers of inmates in jails and prisons across the country in order to keep them from being infected and dying.
The tragic killing of Dominguez is a strong reminder that inmates awaiting trial for violent crimes or felonies should not be released regardless of the concerns of a pandemic.
Thanks to #Virginia .@GovernorVA releasing violent criminals under the guise of COVID, this dirtbag rapist MURDERED the woman who accused him. #Democrats protect criminals & don’t care about protecting women. Wake up!! https://t.co/tUF5gYZzYY
— Liz Dickinson 🇺🇸 (@lizdickinson8) August 7, 2020
Bouaichi’s lawyers claimed that in their motion for bond that social distancing and proper disinfecting measures were impossible while incarcerated. They also claimed that the jail had imposed severe restrictions on visitations due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
All contact visits were stopped and lawyers could only have video conference sessions lasting a maximum of 30 minutes. They claimed that due to these “restrictions”, Bouaichi was being “effectively deprived” of legal counsel.
BREAKING REPORT: Virginia Police say a rape suspect RELEASED FROM PRISON due to the coronavirus went on to KILL HIS ACCUSER.
WHO SHOULD BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE?
— Chuck Callesto (@ChuckCallesto) August 7, 2020
Alexandria jail officials said that they do allow contact visits for attorneys upon request and that they have accommodated many requests during the COVID-19 pandemic. Amy Bertsch, the jail spokeswoman said in a statement:
“We have also provided video conferences in excess of 30 minutes.”
She added:
“We do not have any record of Mr. Levia or his co-counsel requesting a face-to-face visit with Bouaichi after the protocols went into effect in late March.”
Bertsch also noted that the jail implemented increased cleaning and health screening in early March and that there were no cases of COVID-19 at the jail during Bouaichi’s incarceration. Attorney Bryan L. Porter noted that under Virginia law, those charged with certain violent crimes such as rape are presumed to be a danger and are not eligible for bond. He said:
“We strenuously argued that the presumption against bond had not been overcome given the facts of the case and the violent nature of the alleged offense.”
Maryland court records indicate that Bouaichi was released from jail on May 11th. Porter said Alexandria officials were not notified of the charges in Prince George’s County or they would have sought to revoke Bouaichi’s bond.
The family should sue the ones who released him, they shouldn’t have let that man out, she would’ve been alive today, and I hope the man who killed her reap what he sowed 🤬 https://t.co/WZE47puMj7
— 'Royal Essence' (@Jdubp1) August 8, 2020
Judge Hawkins, who released Bouaichi on the $25,000 bond retired in June and did not respond to a request for comment. Police said that Dominguez was a native of Venezuela and did not have family in the United States.
Freed from jail to protect him from coronavirus, Virginia rape suspect kills accuser https://t.co/r82O7GuwZB
— CrimeResearch (@CrimeResearch1) August 7, 2020
Very little information about her is available. A GoFundMe page has been started to help pay for her funeral. The creator of the fund did not respond to messages seeking comment.
Here is another article from Law Enforcement Today about an inmate that was released early due to COVID-19 concerns and committed a crime hours later:
HILLSBOROUGH, FL – Law Enforcement Today recently reported on a man who was released from a Florida jail and re-arrested hours later.
Joseph Edward Williams was released from jail amidst COVID-19 concerns on March 19, along with 163 other inmates. Williams was considered a “low level” inmate due to his charges being drug-related.
The next day, police say, he fatally shot a man.
Oh, by the way: Williams had been arrested 35 times prior to his mere drug charges.
Thirty-five times. Just wanted to make sure you caught that.
His previous arrested included burglary and felon in possession of a firearm.
Sheriff Chad Chronister told Fox13:
“We didn’t go back at the time and look at people’s criminal history.”
Well, wouldn’t you say that was rather stupid, Sheriff? I’m sure Williams’ victims family would.
Apparently, they learned their lesson, as the Sheriff also said:
“That has since changed. People that we are releasing moving forward, we are checking their criminal history prior to being released.”
Oh, phew.
Sheriff Chronister continued:
“There is no question Joseph Williams took advantage of this health emergency to commit crimes while he was out of jail awaiting resolution of a low-level, non-violent offense.”
Well, yeah. He sure did. But then again, he’s a criminal, and that’s what they do. They take advantage. They don’t care about a pandemic, or about a stay at home order, or their victims.
The Sheriff, prosecutors, and judges, however, should know better. They are the ones that should have checked criminal history if they absolutely HAD to release criminals from jail without having gone through any type of rehabilitation.
Here’s the original article we posted on Williams.
While COVID-19 has changed “business as usual” in most parts of the country, it has not kept criminals from doing what they want to do. Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo recently pointed to a spike in criminal activity after the Harris County Judge started ordering the release of prisoners and inmates of the county detention facility.
So, it should not be shocking to hear that a man released from the Hillsborough County, Florida Orient Road Jail was once again put behind bars, just hours after his release.
Joseph Edward Williams was arrested on charges of second-degree murder, resisting an officer with violence, felon in possession of a firearm, possession of heroin and possession of drug paraphernalia. The 26-year-old is being held on $250,000 bond.
Police say he’s connected to a shooting on March 20 that left a man dead around 10:40 that night near 81st Street South and Ash Avenue.
According to WFMY News 2:
“Williams was considered a ‘low-level’ offender, but the 26-year-old is no stranger to the criminal justice system.
He’s been arrested 35 times, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, and was previously convicted of felony burglary and several misdemeanors.
‘There is no question Joseph Williams took advantage of this health emergency to commit crimes while he was out of jail awaiting resolution of a low-level, non-violent offense. As a result, I call on the State Attorney to prosecute this defendant to the fullest extent of the law,’ Sheriff Chad Chronister said.
‘Judges, prosecutors, and Sheriffs around the country are facing difficult decisions during this health crisis with respect to balancing public health and public safety. Sheriffs in Florida and throughout our country have released non-violent, low-level offenders to protect our deputies and the jail population from an outbreak. Our commitment as an agency is to keep this community safe and enforce the law.
Every murder, every violent crime, especially those involving a gun, is a sickening example of the worst in our community, especially at a time when our community is working relentlessly to fight against the spread of this deadly COVID-19.’”
Keep in mind, this is the same sheriff that made headlines for holding a press conference to announce that they were issuing a warrant for the arrest of a pastor that held Sunday services after the issuance of the ‘stay at home’ order in Florida. He also did not send deputies to the pastor’s home because he is a gun-owner and the sheriff feared for the lives of his deputies.
Notice anything missing from Chronister’s comments? Nothing about how this loss of life was avoidable. Nothing in the way of condolences or sympathy to the family of the victim.
Just a “wow, we did not see that coming” mindset and a stab at gun control talking points.
Good job sheriff.
The day that Williams was released, the HCSO took to Twitter to detail what was happening.
#SheriffChadChronister announces that low level, non-violent inmates will be released due to the ongoing threat of the Covid-19 virus. This move has been put in place to protect the inmate population and and detention deputies. pic.twitter.com/pptyl5rjr1
— HCSO (@HCSOSheriff) March 19, 2020
Guess how long it took them to tweet any mention of the fact that one of the inmates they released then allegedly committed murder?
Twenty-five days and counting.
Yep, you read that correctly. Almost a month and no mention of Williams via their Twitter account.
If only this were an isolated incident, but it isn’t. Here is just one similar story.
Left wing, progressive district attorney’s and prison officials, in order to show how woke they are and how they’re such humanitarians have taken to releasing prisoners early over coronavirus concerns.
Most normal people understand that this is probably not a great idea, and those with a background in law enforcement know that it probably won’t end well. For a woman in Utah, that was the case and she could have paid for her life because of it.
On March 19 in American Fork, UT., a man who was recently released from a halfway house early due to concerns over the spread of COVID-19 “forcibly entered a home…(and) using a large, serrated knife, he threatened the homeowner and tied her up with shoelaces,” according to charging documents.
Prisoner released early over COVID-19 concerns allegedly broke into woman’s home, tied her up at knifepoint, and threatened to kill her https://t.co/UZpYebTLoy #Utah #Halfwayhouse via @theblaze pic.twitter.com/kn0Bk98OXn
— Chris 🇺🇸 (@Chris_1791) March 24, 2020
The victim told police officers that she was sleeping when she was awoken by the sound of creaking stairs and discovered a man she had never seen before standing in her room holding a knife “raised toward his head with the knife pointing down,” according to a police affidavit.
“The victim began screaming and yelling, at which point the male told her to be quiet or he was going to cut her head off,” the affidavit states.
Sounds like a solid, stable guy there…just the kind you want loose on the streets. Unbelievable.
The man, identified as Joshua J. Haskell, 42, of American Fork then tied up the woman’s wrists and ankles with shoelaces. He told her that he was going to take her bank cards, cash, her can and PIN numbers, and that if she gave him the incorrect numbers he would return and kill her, authorities said.
The victim’s son heard his mother screaming and called 911. Upon arrival of the officers, Haskell was still in the bedroom with the woman.
Once he realized that police were downstairs, Haskell got into the bed with the woman and told her to tell officers he was her “lover,” the arrest affidavit said.
While Haskell adjusted the sheets to make it look like he was asleep, the woman got out of the bed and ran downstairs. She “ran downstairs to officers in a panicked and horrified manner,” police wrote. Haskell was then arrested at gunpoint.
In speaking to the officers, she told them that “she was sure she was going to die and that she was just waiting for the suspect to stab her,” the affidavit stated.
Haskell had drugs and drug paraphernalia on him at the time of the incident, police said. He had previously been convicted of drug-related crimes at least four times, according to the arrest paperwork. He also has a lengthy criminal history.
“It is of note that Haskell had recently been incarcerated at the Utah State Prison after previously being released on parole and committing a parole violation.
Within the last few days, Haskell was released from the Utah State Prison to a halfway house…However due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, he was suddenly released on (March 17),” police wrote in their affidavit.
For the most recent arrest, Haskell was charged Monday in 4th District Court with aggravated burglary, and aggravated robbery, first-degree felonies, aggravated kidnapping, possession of a weapon by a restricted person, and drug possession, third-degree felonies.
In addition, at the time of his arrest Haskell reportedly had an active warrant out for his arrest for misdemeanor theft.
Why was Haskell let out early? Some “experts” had warned that the coronavirus could “wreak havoc” on correctional facilities in the United States, after which several states and counties began to implement early release strategies to prevent the spread of the disease.
Critics of the early release program have said that by releasing criminals back on the streets during the pandemic, it will not make communities safer, but rather put them at risk.
This is especially true they say because law enforcement will likely be overrun to a degree by increased calls for service with forces that will likely be themselves reduced by the virus.
For prison inmates, the coronavirus outbreak must be a dream come true. Across the country, state after state is releasing prisoners out of coronavirus concerns.
While most of those states claim that the prisoners being released are either “at-risk” prisoners, or low-level offenders, the incident in Utah will become a common occurrence because clearly more serious offenders are getting released.
It is interesting that states like California, which has shut down gun shops as “non-essential” businesses, they are letting hundreds, if not thousands of prisoners out onto the streets. With over-matched police, prisoners out on the streets and people unable to purchase guns to defend themselves, this will probably not turn out well.
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