“Of all the ill-advised pieces of commentary concerning this blockbuster trial, perhaps no one was less welcome than this,” Oliver said of Simpson’s thoughts.
He played a video that Simpson had posted to Twitter last week, which the disgraced NFL star and accused murderer captioned, “People keep asking me my opinion of the Alex Murdaugh trial.”
In it, Simpson can be seen saying, “A whole lot of people are asking me what I think about this Alex Murdaugh trial. I don’t know why they think I’m an expert on it.”
Oliver cut in with a rather gleeful, “Oh, I do!” He continued, “I do, O.J., because there are exactly two things that you have expertise on in this life: football and murdering wives. And no one’s asking you for your take on Alex Murdaugh’s rushing average so I’m guessing it’s the second one, then.”
Murdaugh was found guilty on Thursday for murdering his wife, Maggie, and their son, Paul, in June 2021 on their hunting estate in South Carolina. After a six-week-long trial and two documentaries premiering on Netflix and HBO, there are a number of shocking takeaways in this case.
Simpson shared his thoughts in his Twitter video just hours before the verdict was announced.
“I am not qualified to really say if the guy did it or he didn’t do it,” he acknowledged, but added, “from what I’ve seen, do I think it’s more likely that he did it? Yes. But ‘more likely’ equals reasonable doubt.”
In 1994, the former football star was charged with killing his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman. He was acquitted of the charges in 1995 but a civil suit filed in 1996 by the victims’ families found him responsible for their deaths. Simpson later spent nine years in prison on separate charges of armed robbery and kidnapping until he was released on parole in 2017.
While we now know that Murdaugh was convicted of these two murders, Simpson remarked in the video at the time, “It wouldn’t surprise me in the least if this guy beats this case.”
Murdaugh and his family have also been tied to at least two other deaths in their town of Hampton, South Carolina.
The Murdaughs come from a long line of affluent lawyers, which locals speculate granted them considerable power over the local police. Paul Murdaugh’s involvement in the death of 19-year-old Mallory Beach is what ultimately uncovered Alex Murdaugh’s string of financial crimes.
Ideas matter, policies matter, leadership is essential.
That could be a list of bromides, but those ingredients actually produced one of the great examples of urban renewal in American history. Now there is a film that tells the whole story in compelling detail.
“Gotham: The Fall and Rise of New York” chronicles how the city nearly murdered itself, and how it was rescued and brought back to life as a world capital. The downhill-uphill saga spans nearly 50 years, from mayors John Lindsay to Michael Bloomberg.
It’s a great story, full of villains and heroes, doers and dopes, and offers the final proof, thanks to the retrospective on the Lindsay years, that the road to hell really is paved with good intentions.
That’s just one of the many lessons that makes the film a timely intervention as the city once again suffers from the plagues of rampant crime and an exodus of talent and taxpayers. As such, “Gotham” ought to be required viewing for Gov. Hochul and Mayor Adams and every member of their inner circles.
Gov. Kathy Hochul giving a speech at the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.John Nacion/Shutterstock
‘A global story’
Likewise, lawmakers in the city and Albany should invest two hours to watch the film since they must get in the game if the current downhill slide is going to be reversed. If nothing else, the images and headlines from the worst of times should scare them into a serious examination of their own beliefs and duties.
Indeed, far from being frozen in amber, the film, scheduled for a March streaming release, should resonate in cities across America that also are descending into violence and disorder. (I have a role as one of a score of unpaid commentators.)
“This is a global story,” says Larry Mone, who imagined the movie and brought it to fruition with the director-producer team of Michelle and Matthew Taylor. “Too many people think that the great New York turnaround was just an accident. It wasn’t and it’s important to document what happened and why.”
Mone was president of the Manhattan Institute from 1995 until 2019, a period in which the organization and its scholars served as a nursery for many of the ideas that would guide New York’s comeback.
The “broken windows” approach to policing got its big boost there and, under Mayor Rudy Giuliani, became key to dramatic decreases in crime and huge improvements in the quality of life. Having cops sweat the small stuff, like open drug use and obnoxious squeegee men, often drew scoffs from the media, but it was all part of a strategy to create a sense of public safety that wasn’t limited to statistics, but zeroed in on whether people felt safe.
It still boggles the mind to think that in Giuliani’s first four years, the number of murders in New York dropped from nearly 2,000 in 1993, the year before he took office, to 770 in 1997.
Mayor Eric Adams campaigned on fighting crime, and while he’s made some strides, he still needs help from Democrats in Albany.Paul Martinka During Rudy Giuliani’s first term, the number of murders in New York dropped from nearly 2,000 in 1993, to 770 in 1997. AP
That was one of the most important advances in any city on any issue. Almost by itself, that drop, which led to the lowest murder total in 30 years, proved that New York could be saved and gave people and businesses reason to hope — and stay.
Revolution in policing
And it was just the start of a revolution in policing. Before that, the prevailing view was that police could not do much to prevent crime, their job being to catch the bad guys afterwards.
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The new approach, modified often because of circumstances and court decisions, continued under Bloomberg and helped make New York the safest big city in America. In 2013, Bloomberg’s final year at City Hall, murders fell to 335 and eventually hit a modern-day low of 292 before they started to climb again in the second term of Bill de Blasio’s misbegotten mayoralty.
The dramatic drop in welfare cases is another example. Standing at 1.2 million families when Giuliani took office, and projected to hit 1.5 million, they eventually fell to a little more than 300,000 under Bloomberg.
In education, the great advance was City Hall’s support for charter schools. The alternative to the regular district schools has proved a godsend to many families, especially in the poorest, nonwhite neighborhoods.
These improvements in crime, welfare, and education are more than statistical triumphs. As the film makes crystal clear, they represent lives saved and ultimately reclaimed from failure and hopelessness.
Mayor Bloomerg’s approach continued to make New York the safest big city in America as in 2013, his final year as mayor, murders fell to 335 and eventually hit a modern-day low of 292.AP
Those individual victories, in turn, became the basis of a booming city, as public and private investments in housing and infrastructure drew about 1.6 million new residents from the 1970s low.
New York was the place to be. As Mone says, “This great comeback was all the result of the conscious choices and decisions that leaders made.”
The de Blasio error
Inadvertently, the film also offers a contrast to today’s city. De Blasio ended up handcuffing the cops and, predictably, crime took off and the quality of life declined. He dumbed down education and stymied charters in pursuing a radical ideology that helped no one.
The pandemic gave people another reason to leave. It’s over, but the death rattle still lingers, with many of those who fled deciding not to return. Half-empty skyscrapers dot what used to be teeming streets and shops.
If that were all, it would have been trouble enough. But so-called criminal justice reforms in Albany unleashed an anything-goes attitude, and everything from murder to shoplifting has soared.
Adams campaigned on the promise to deliver public safety and has made meaningful gains in taming violent crime, with murders falling last year to 438, compared to 488 in 2021. But he’s gotten almost zero help from fellow Dems in Albany and a demoralized, shrinking NYPD seems overwhelmed by the epidemic of lawbreaking and criminal coddling.
Adams blamed Bill de Blasio for leaving New York in chaos and made notable gains in taming violent crime, with murders falling last year to 438, compared to 488 in 2021.AP
Prosecutors who act as if they are defense attorneys further complicate efforts to crack down on things like fare-beating and public urination, leading to a pervasive sense of disorder and fear.
Can New York be saved again? “Gotham” offers a very encouraging example and points the way forward. But whether the leadership exists to make it happen remains an open question.
Doomed by Biden
Reader Ron Zajicek offers a vote of no confidence on President Biden’s handling of Ukraine, writing: “Joe’s promised Abrams tanks will arrive in months, millions of Ukrainians have fled, the country will take decades to rebuild and Putin is going to deliver another offensive that’s bigger than before. Both sides have lost, but Ukraine will never be the same.”
Santos lied, but Pete is toxic
Howard Siegel spots a double standard, writing: “While the media screams for the removal of Republican George Santos, they seem eerily silent concerning our unqualified and incompetent transportation secretary, Pete Buttigieg. So let us toast with a glass of tainted water our compliments to Mayor Pete.”
Unprecedented increases in US homicides are being met with the lowest-ever clearance rate — leaving at least half of the killings unsolved, according to alarming data and experts.
Analyses of FBI data up show that 71% of homicides were deemed solved in 1980 — dropping to an all-time low of only about 50% in 2020, the last time the data was compiled.
“We’re on the verge of being the first developed nation where the majority of homicides go uncleared,” Thomas Hargrove, founder of the Murder Accountability Project, told The Guardian.
A graph by the group shows that the clearance rate was even higher before 1980, seemingly marked as high as 90% in 1965.
A separate graphic shows a sudden spike in homicides in 2020 — with the number marked as solved barely increasing from preceding years.
The red for homicides show a rapid rise around 2020, with the dull color representing solves cases barely increasing.Murder Accountability Project
The Marshall Project — another nonprofit focused on criminal justice — also noted a “historic low” in 2020 of only “about 1 of every 2 murders” being solved.
The Marshall Project and Murder Accountability Project compile data because there is no publicly available government database tracking homicides and the outcomes of police investigations into them.
Thomas Hargrove, founder of the Murder Accountability Project, warned that the US is “on the verge of being the first developed nation where the majority of homicides go uncleared.”TEDx Talks
The research is confounded by the fact that different agencies have different criteria for marking a case cleared.
For most it means someone has been arrested, charged and turned over to a court for prosecution.
However, the FBI also allows homicides to be marked clear over “exceptional means,” including when a victim refuses to cooperate to take a case to trial or when a suspect is being tried elsewhere for other crimes.
It also applies when the suspect dies, which critics call putting “bodies on bodies” to help boost clearance numbers, The Marshall Project noted.
Some experts, however, caution that the data does not take into account key factors that have also changed over the decades — suggesting that the lower clearance rate could in fact be a sign of progress.
“It also could be that the standards for making an arrest have gone up and some of the tricks they were using in 1965 are no longer available,” said Philip Cook, a public policy researcher at the University of Chicago Urban Labs who has been studying clearance rates since the 1970s.
He noted to The Marshall Project that outrageous cases were convicts are cleared because of “shoddy” evidence were at the time listed as a “successful” homicide clearance.
Critics note previous reports that suggest the issue is particularly stark in low-income black and Latino neighborhoods.
“People don’t need to see the data to know that the police are not doing their job,” Tinisch Hollins, the executive director of a California justice-reform group, told The Guardian.
“My perception is that police are failing to do their job.”
Experts are divided on what is to blame for the decreasing rate of homicides getting cleared.Getty Images
Others, however, suggest that the recent backlash against cops over protests against police killings have also harmed investigations, both through defunded forces and witnesses unwilling to help.
“You hear every cop saying, ‘We can’t do better because they don’t cooperate,’” retired homicide detective John Skaggs, who now trains officers across the US, told The Guardian.
Peter Moskos, a professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, previously told The Marshall Project that it was a vicious cycle.
“If people criticize the police constantly, it is natural that people would be less willing to talk to police,” Moskos said, with that handicapping any investigations and further raising criticism of cops.
The spike in cases has also overwhelmed many homicide squads.
“For us, it’s the volume,” veteran Philadelphia homicide detective Joe Murray previously told CBS News.
“The Murder Accountability Project firmly believes declining homicide clearance rates are the result of inadequate allocation of resources — detectives, forensic technicians, crime laboratory capacity, and adequate training of personnel,” he said said.
Either way, Jessica Pizzano of Survivors of Homicide noted the importance for families to see their loved ones’ killers taken off the streets.
“Is the murderer in my neighborhood? Will I run into them at the grocery store? Or when I’m pumping gas? … These are real fears that families live through,” Pizzano previously told The Marshall Project.
“They just want that person to never, ever do that to another family again.”
New Yorkers are giving Gov. Kathy Hochul even lower marks when it comes to confronting the rising cost of living in the Empire State than the below water rating they gave her on fighting crime, a new poll reveals.
“Crime and cost of living were voters’ top two priorities for Albany back in December heading into this session, and they remain the two issues voters want Hochul and the Legislature to prioritize,” said pollster Steven Greenberg of the Siena College poll released Monday.
“Crime is the top priority for Republicans, independents, downstate suburbanites, and upstaters, while for Democrats and New York City voters, cost of living edges out crime for the single top priority,” he added.
The poll, conducted Feb. 19-23, which had a margin of error of plus or minus 5%, highlights how Hochul continues to struggle on some key issues as she pushes a range of controversial budget proposals – which include an effective ban on gas stoves in new buildings opposed by voters 53% to 29% – ahead of an April 1 budget deadline.
Voters overwhelmingly believe crime is at least somewhat serious of a problem in the Empire State, with 60% of voters overall saying the situation is “very serious” and another 32% saying “somewhat serious.”
A new poll shows voters have mixed attitudes on the budget proposals unveiled by Gov. Kathy Hochul at the beginning of February ahead of the April 1 budget deadline.AP
A 49% plurality of respondents disapprove of Hochul’s handling of crime – New York City kicked off 2023 with an 18% spike in serious assaults – compared to 43% who approve.
Siena found big differences between the opinions of suburbanites and upstaters on crime and affordability compared to their relatively left-leaning counterparts in New York City.
A 55% majority of people within New York City approve of her handling of crime compared to 59% upstate and 51% in the suburbs.
Registered Republicans gave Hochul her worst marks on crime with 75% of them disapproving, alongside 66% of self-identified conservatives and 63% of independents.
A whopping 64% of Latinos disapprove of her record on public safety compared to 47% of Black voters and 41% of white voters.
Young people between the ages of 18 and 34 were the only age group to have a majority (53%) approving of her approach to rising crime while at least 50% of every other age group disapproved.
Crime was the top issue for 36% of voters though the cost of living and affordable housing were close behind at 27% and 13% with public health, the environmental and racial justice trailed at 8%, 7%, and 6% in the survey of 744 registered voters.
The Siena Poll showed voters disapproving 53% to 29% Hochul’s budget proposal to effectively ban gas stoves in new buildings.Getty Images Hochul got relatively positive marks from voters on some issues, but not her budget push to ban new gas hook-ups in new buildings beginning in 2025 and with larger buildings three years later. SIENA RESEARCH INSTITUTE
The numbers for Hochul were even worse when it came to making New York more affordable.
A 54% majority disapprove of the job Hochul is doing with making New York more affordable compared to 39% who approve.
The numbers are much worse in the suburbs and upstate, with 63% and 64% of people from the two groups respectively disapproving of her response to sky-high prices compared to just 24% and 32% who approve.
The new poll finds nearly unanimity among voters that crime is at least “somewhat serious” of a problem.Matthew McDermott
But the situation is reversed within the five boroughs where 56% of respondents approve of her her affordability efforts compared to 37% who disapprove.
The differences in opinion are much less pronounced by ethnicity, gender, or income level while 75% of Republicans disapprove compared to 58% of independents and 41% of Democrats.
“There is a regional aspect to it, but I think largely the regional aspect to this is the partisan aspect,” Greenberg told the Post about the differences in opinion between New York City, upstate and suburban counties that include Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester, Rockland, Orange, and Putnam.
Hochul got better marks from voters on other fronts though her favorability rating slipped from 48% to 46% over the last month, with her disapproval rating increasing from 42% to 43%.
Two-thirds of registered voters say liar Rep. George Santos should resign – including 58% of Republcians.AP Hochul’s approval rating remained relatively the same. SIENA RESEARCH INSTITUTE
Her disapproval rating, however, jumped to 40% from 26% a month ago.
Voters approve of her efforts “to encourage businesses to locate in New York” by 51% to 37%.
A slight plurality (45%) gave the thumbs up to her push to increase “the availability of affordable housing in New York, with 41% giving a thumbs down.
Just 33% of voters oppose her proposal to lower the legal blood alcohol limit from .08% to .05%.
A 57% majority supports a proposed ban on flavored tobacco products compared to 35% who oppose the idea.
Her proposal to peg the state minimum wage to the rate of inflation is uniting people across the political spectrum, with 59% of Republicans supporting the idea alongside 82% of Democrats and 70% of voters overall.
Just 16% of respondents say Santos should not resign following revelations about the falsehoods he told voters about his professional and personal background while 66% of voters overall say he should step down.
“The ‘good’ news for Santos is that even in these hyper partisan times, he’s found a way to get Democrats, Republicans and independents to agree about a political figure. The bad news for Santos is that the political figure they agree on is him, and they overwhelmingly view him unfavorably,” Greenberg said. “It’s not just that 72% of Democrats want him to resign, so do 63% of independents and 58% of Republicans.”
Can you tell me how to get far, far away from Sesame Street?
Santa Cruz residents have been instructed not to engage with a man dressing as the Cookie Monster, who police say has been yelling obscenities and taunting locals enjoying a stroll along the California coastal city’s boardwalk.
Santa Cruz police say the “Sesame Street”‘ wannabe has been harassing parents to pay him to pose in photos with their children.
“We are getting calls from people who say he is ‘creepy,’” police spokeswoman Joyce Blaschke told local affiliate KRON. “Based on his history, we advise the public to not engage with this individual. Steer clear from him.”
Blaschke added, “I would not take a photo with him.”
Santa Cruz police confirmed to The Post the suspect’s name is Adam Sandler, 59, no relation to the “Uncut Gems” star.
The Post reported in 2013 that a man by the name of Dan Sandler shouted anti-Semitic diatribes at NYC tourists while dressed as the red “Sesame Street” muppet Elmo.
He got slapped with one year in jail after threatening to spread false rumors tying the Girl Scouts to a “rape camp” in Cambodia.
“I accept the fact I committed a crime, but I’m not in anyway sorry to the Girl Scouts organization,” he said in Manhattan Criminal Court at the time.
The Post reported he had also been arrested in San Francisco, where prosecutors said he grabbed a kid while panhandling in his furry Elmo costume.
One officer was injured, and multiple spectators were set ablaze during an out-of-control street race takeover in Austin, Texas.
Multiple 911 calls were received Saturday night at around 9 p.m. about cars and a crowd causing mayhem by blocking an intersection, setting off fireworks, and street racing in the downtown area, according to the Austin Police Department.
Several police vehicles were damaged after the unruly crowd began throwing fireworks, bottles, rocks, and pointing lasers at responding officers.
“One officer sustained a non-life-threatening injury, was treated at a local hospital, and was released,” according to the department.
Police arrested two people for evading arrest and are still investigating the incident.
A police cruiser is struck by a firework after a crowd at the takeover was able to repel the responding emergency vehicle back.Twitter/@aaroncrews
“APD is committed to stopping this conduct. Lawbreaking in this manner will result in enforcement and arrest. Our community’s safety is the #1 priority for APD,” the department wrote on Twitter.
In a video posted on social media of the lawless takeover, a pickup truck was seen driving through fire while doing donuts at an intersection.
As the truck drove over the flames on the ground, a small explosion led to fire spewing toward a crowd of people who were briefly engulfed by the flames.
Multiple people in the video were seen on fire as they stripped off their clothes and ran for safety, as others attempted to pat them down while still cheering and laughing.
Their conditions are unknown.
In another video posted on Twitter, a massive crowd began pushing back a police cruiser by slamming on the vehicle’s hood, disregarding the emergency vehicle’s blaring lights and sirens.
The chaos didn’t end until nearly two in the morning after the crowd began to disperse.
Local Council Member Alison Alter voiced her outrage over the incident, saying she was put on hold by 911 for 28 minutes after she attempted to call to report the takeover, she told Austin American-Statesman.
Lack of staffing for 911 operators has been an issue in Austin, with the average hold time for calls being two and a half minutes, according to an October report by Fox News.
The rowdy crowd could be heard cheering, even after others were stripping down because their clothes were on fire.Instagram/oscarcruz.ss
The Austin Police Association took to social media, blaming lawmakers in Austin who “failed to make the right decisions & continue to defund, destroy, & demoralize public safety.”
Other Texas lawmakers who saw the chaos on social media began calling for a solution to stop these dangerous takeovers.
“God bless our brave men and women in blue! Especially those working in cities where they’re undervalued, underpaid and under attack, like in Austin,” State Rep. Jeff Leach wrote on Twitter.
An individual is seen on fire after flames shot out onto him from a pickup truck doing donuts over a fire in the middle of an intersection.Instagram/oscarcruz.ss
“We should come together as a community to figure out how to keep this from happening again, how to keep our community safe, and how to enable our law enforcement to respond in a quick and effective manner,” Rep. Vikki Goodwin wrote on Twitter about the Takeover.
Takeovers usually involve hundreds of people and multiple cars gathering in an unauthorized area like an intersection or interstate and blocking traffic while performing dangerous and chaotic stunts and activities.
It’s the speech Albany refused to listen to — or heed.
David Soares is the Albany County district attorney, an African American and a Democrat. Yet he’s also a fierce critic of the criminal justice “reforms” passed by the Legislature, saying they have made the state less safe and victimized black residents. He was slated to address a state Senate hearing on crime, but was disinvited because legislators did not like the optics of being criticized by someone they couldn’t dismiss as a “white supremacist” or Republican.
The remarks eventually were read into the record, by someone else, and they were quickly ignored. So here, in Soares’ own words, is what has gone wrong in New York — and what needs to be done. Will Albany continue to dismiss the problem?
Thank you for having me here to testify about public safety in New York state.
I’m going to open by saying something you’ve all heard before; the reforms passed in 2017 and 2019, although they were well intentioned and brought about important changes, have been extremely detrimental to public safety.
What you may not have heard before is a hard truth: that these reforms have had their most devastating impact on black and brown communities. If you take an honest look at the data — the increases in crime, the victims of those crimes and the location of the most violent crimes — the connection is quite clear.
Set the record straight
I’ll set the stage by taking a look at our practices before the reforms. For statistical purposes I will highlight a large metropolitan county and a mid-sized upstate county.
A NYPD officer investigating a shooting in Manhattan on February 18, 2023.Christopher Sadowski
One area that commanded much attention pre-reforms was the percentage of people who were being held on bail post-arrest but pre-conviction. Let’s set the record straight: that was always low, even prior to bail reform. In Albany County, 40% of the beds at the correction facility were occupied by sentenced defendants and defendants awaiting trial on violent felonies.
One 2019 study of the jail population in Queens County found that 95% of the defendants being held pretrial were being held on felonies, 41% on violent felonies.
The perception that many people were being held on minor charges on low bail amounts was always absolutely false. In fact, the same Queens study showed that defendants being held solely because of their inability to post bail on misdemeanor charges had an average of more than five felony arrests, seven misdemeanor arrests, seven misdemeanor convictions and almost three failures to appear.
At some point, repeated violations of the law and disrespect for the process has to be treated with the level of seriousness it deserves.
When bail reform took effect just over three years ago, thousands of defendants were released from local jails. In fact, some judges actually started a “soft launch,” if you will, by releasing some defendants in November of 2019 in anticipation of the new laws, apparently to avoid the mass release of thousands of incarcerated individuals on one day — and perhaps the bad press that would garner.
Lockup under lockdown
Among those individuals suddenly released were hundreds of accused drug dealers, car thieves, shoplifters, burglars, and robbers statewide.
Members of law enforcement have often been told that the suspension of services during the overlapping coronavirus pandemic was the driving force behind the increases in crime in 2020. While that was undoubtedly a contributing factor, that is not a holistic explanation for the decline of public safety.
We actually do have a short window of time to analyze that was post-reforms but pre-COVID. That would be the first 2 ¹/₂ months of 2020. Crime had already started rising — by a lot — by the time the coronavirus hit.
Soares called the criminal justice reforms passed by the state Legislature “extremely detrimental to public safety.”Hans Pennink
In New York City alone, crime rose 20%, ending a 27-year stretch of yearly crime reductions. Crime was up across the board. Burglaries up 26.5%; robbery up 33.9%; grand larceny up 15.8%; car theft up 68%; petit larceny up 19%.
What a coincidence that each of these crimes became a non-bailable offense in 2020, meaning that all those previously held on bail on these charges were released by Jan. 1, 2020. If you deny that the release of hundreds of car thieves, burglars, drug dealers and petty thieves had an obvious impact on crime in New York, you’re denying common sense.
You don’t need to be a weatherman to know which way the wind is blowing.
Additionally, the new law created a new form of release: “non-monetary release.” This allows judges to release a defendant without bail but enables them to impose certain conditions, such as requiring the defendant to report to a pretrial agency, seek employment or wear an ankle bracelet. These conditions could only be imposed if the court found that the defendant was a flight risk.
This release condition was designed to replace bail, while placing some restrictions on the defendant intended to be more impactful than release on recognizance. These were imposed, essentially, on the defendants who would have had bail set under the old law. If they had a prior conviction or pending case, it would be even more likely a judge would have set bail under the old law.
Blood splattered on the sidewalk after a shooting in Manhattan on February 12, 2023.Matthew McDermott
If we use the Unified Court System’s pretrial data dashboard, and look at the defendants put into the non-monetary release program, we see the following:
Between Jan. 1, 2020 and June 30, 22, 39.6% of the defendants put into NMR got re-arrested while their case was pending.
For those defendants put into NMR who had a prior conviction or pending case (79% of the total), the re-arrest rate was 44.6%.
For those defendants put into NMR charged with commercial burglary, the re-arrest rate was 62%. For residential burglary, it was 47%. For grand larceny, it was 56%. For robbery third degree, it was 56%. For petit larceny, it was 67%.
Doomed to repeat
However, even these numbers undercount the full scope of recidivism. They do not count re-arrests during the time between plea and sentence, which can run for weeks or months. They only count one re-arrest, so if a defendant gets re-arrested four times while out on bail, it only counts in Department of Criminal Justice Services stats as one arrest. The implicit assumption in all of this, that a career criminal is arrested every time they commit a crime, is naïve to say the least.
In the mind of someone who is determined to break the law, the ability to repeat offenses over a short period of time with minimal repercussions serves only to incentivize such behavior.
Speaking of incentivizing behavior with the removal of consequences, the impact of Raise the Age has been comparably detrimental to public safety. Since the implementation of Raise the Age, Albany County has seen approximately 312 Raise the Age cases, involving only 230 defendants. I only say “approximately” because these numbers can change on a day-to-day basis.
Thirty-four percent of those defendants have been arrested more than once; 19% percent of those re-arrested were detained as minors. Of those re-arrested, 62% were re-arrested for a violent felony.
But what do those numbers mean? Those numbers mean that transferring a case to family court often leads to the defendant being returned to the very community that led them down that path to begin with. Violent cases need to remain in the adolescent part to prevent further community harm.
Flat-out wrong
Back to the bail reform law, we should also look at the literal wording of the law, specifically, the words “least restrictive.” These two words from the Bail Elimination Act are specifically referenced by judges when making a determination on bail. That standard often leads to a demonstrably dangerous person being returned to the same environment and community in which they committed their crimes. This helps neither the community nor the offender.
I’d like to conclude by saying, despite the wild misconceptions, generalizations and assertions of activists about the intentions of prosecutors, our aim isn’t to lock up as many people as possible, for as long as possible.
The decade-and-a-half period between the Rockefeller Reforms and Pre Bail Reform in 2020 reflect the greatest gains in public safety in the history of New York state. Prosecutors engaging in intelligence-based investigations and prosecutions applied a tough-on-crime and smart-on-diversion approach that ushered in the age of prison closings throughout New York state.
We understand the complicated nature of social determinants of crime and agree that those should also be prioritized.
However, pretending that accountability and the immobilization of criminals isn’t a critical part of public safety is akin to pretending the Earth is flat.
Just because your echo chamber repeats it, doesn’t make it true.
Season 2 of Ganglands, also known as Braqueurs: La Serie, as it was adapted from writer-director Julien Leclercq’s film of the same name, returns Sami Bouajila as master thief Mehdi Belhadj and Tracy Gotoas as Liana, his young protege in heisting. They were both left standing after the drug business bloodbath oflast season, and as we rejoin them a few months after the violence, they’ve got a plan for one more score before they leave Europe behind. But you know what they say about best laid plans.
Opening Shot: A battered trailer home sits on a small lot in the forest. If you’re gonna live off the grid near Brussels, Belgium, this is the place to do it.
The Gist: Inside, Mehdi (Bouajila) shaves his head and pops pain meds, the only outward sign that he’s still recovering from the gunshot wounds that landed him in the hospital last season. And as Liana (Gotoas) packs their weapons and other gear, they hook up with old pal Tony (Samuel Jouy) and prepare for the jewel heist that will finance their respective retirement plans. That the stones belong to Chris (Geert Van Rampelberg), the drug dealer who killed Mehdi’s sister and niece, is just icing on the cake. The crew gains entry to the diamond brokerage and grab what they came for, but not without wounding Javier (Marvin Schlick), the son of a cartel boss with whom Chris had been negotiating drug business logistics.
They pocketed the jewels, Mehdi exacted retribution for his loved ones’ murders, and then they shot their way out of downtown Brussels. But spilling Javier’s blood will have consequences. As Mehdi and Liana get ready to leave the country, Los Soles, the South American cartel he represents, sends a fixer tasked with eliminating the heisters and securing a favorable business partner for their drug trafficking operations at the Port of Antwerp. Mehdi’s plan was already dangerous. But unexpected ramifications are already destroying his methodical planning.
Javier had planned to contract with the Djebli crime family, whose Saber (Salim Kechiouche) and Sofia (Nabiha Akkari) have their own history with Mehdi and his people. But Almedia (Joaquim de Almeida), the Soles fixer, has his own plan to shore up the cartel’s European business, and it doesn’t involve the Djeblis. As Almeida meets with Belgian Federal Police commissaire Isabelle Herman (Loriane Klupsch) at the Venezuelan Embassy – this guy’s as smooth and seemingly legit as he is murderous and power-hungry – his personal enforcer Valeria (Leone Francois) leads a kill squad to dispatch not only Saber and Sofia, but Mehdi and Liana, too.
What Shows Will It Remind You Of? The Netflix action-thriller series Hit & Run, from the creators of Fauda, ping pongs between Tel Aviv, Israel and New York City as a man is driven to investigate his wife’s death. And the streamer also includes three seasons of Undercover, a tense Belgian crime series with a look and feel similar to Ganglands.
Our Take: In the first episode of Ganglands Season 2, Mehdi and Liana are each asked separately by people close to them what they mean to each other. “She’s my everything,” Mehdi answers simply, and Liana is as matter-of-fact. “He’s all I got.” These two never would have known each other, were it not for the circumstances. Liana was just a small-time hustler pulling cons with her girlfriend, Mehdi’s niece. But then everything exploded, rival drug gangs came gunning, and they both lost loved ones in the fallout. As its second season begins, Ganglands has already established its core, which is the evolution of this relationship between Mehdi and Liana as part father-daughter and part professional equals. And since violence has touched them once again, it will be interesting to see how their bond survives and thrives.
Not that any of their adversaries plan on seeing them survive. The set up portion of Ganglands’ early going has already dispatched with one rival who managed to walk away from last season in Chris, the corrupt hotelier and drug dealer, and supplanted him with an even more dangerous group in a South American cartel with operations in Belgium and a beef with Mehdi. After the few stray quiet moments in the first episode, it seems evident that Los Soles’ main shot caller is going to use his seven days in Brussels to not only reorganize the cartel’s business in his favor, but keep coming at Mehdi and Liana until they and everyone close to them are dead. (Last season’s relentless body count is pretty good precedent for this assumption.) The first episode even culminates with a cliffhanger to that effect. Ganglands is fast-paced, ruthless, and unsympathetic in its portrayal of criminals with a decent streak being stalked by other criminals who set no such limitations. It’s a good thing Mehdi and Liana have each other, because there is likely no one else to cover their six.
Sex and Skin: Liana and Kelly share a brief moment of intimacy before Mehdi interrupts them.
Parting Shot: With the knowledge that Los Soles is after them, Mehdi has moved up the seaborne out he planned for he and Liana. But the exit strategy is totally blown when gunmen arrive at the port and start shooting up the boat.
Sleeper Star: Prolific Portuguese actor Joaquim de Almeida, whose bad guy credits stretch all the way back to 1994’s Clear and Present Danger, is doing his wonderful, typical thing here, playing a ruthless cartel higher-up who is simultaneously a respected, smooth-talking international prosecutor.
Most Pilot-y Line: “You want to go over the plan?” And Liana’s curt shake of the head and determined response to Mehdi – “steal the diamonds, sell them, and next week, Canada” – reveals how much these two trust each other, professionally and personally.
Our Call: STREAM IT. At a terse six episodes, season two of Ganglands is set to a pace that feels more like an action movie as we root for an aging thief and his young partner to finally outlast their murderous drug dealer foes.
Johnny Loftus is an independent writer and editor living at large in Chicagoland. His work has appeared in The Village Voice, All Music Guide, Pitchfork Media, and Nicki Swift. Follow him on Twitter: @glennganges
The stricken former partner of slain EMT Yadira Arroyo described in Bronx court Tuesday how a routine day suddenly turned tragic when a deranged man hijacked their ambulance.
Monique Williams recalled to jurors in painful detail how she and Arroyo, a beloved 44-year-old mom of five, were driving to a call involving a pregnant woman when a passing motorist signaled to them that a man was riding on their bumper on White Plains Road about 7 p.m. March 16, 2017.
The FDNY medics pulled over to investigate, and the next thing they knew, 25-year-old suspect Jose Gonzalez had run around and hopped behind the wheel of their emergency vehicle, she said.
“I remember her screaming, ‘Oh hell, no!’ ” Williams said of Arroyo.
“I was trying to pull his hand off the steering wheel,” Williams said in the courtroom — where about 50 EMTs were in the gallery staring down Gonzalez, who was allegedly high on PCP at the time of the crime.
Gonzalez was able to kick the ambulance into gear even as he fought with the two medics, Williams said.
Another witness said the suspect then suddenly backed up the ambulance and hit a car before lurching forward into an intersection. That’s when Arroyo fell, and the emergency vehicle fatally ran her over.
FDNY medic Yadira Arroyo, 44, was fatally mowed down by her hijacked ambulance in 2017. AP
Williams said she immediately noticed that she no longer heard her pal “Yadi.
“I lost sight of her,” said the former medic, who retired the day of the horror. “When we started to go forward, I felt some tumbling underneath us.”
She found Arroyo lying still on the ground.
“I ran over to her to try to get her up,” Williams said quietly. “She didn’t get up. I stayed there with her. She didn’t move no more, so I just stood there with her.”
Arroyo’s aunt, Ali Acevedo-Hernandez, later told The Post outside court that the emotional account drove her to tears.
“The thing that got to me … was when [Williams] said that she felt something tumbling under the wheels,” Acevedo-Hernandez said. “And I know it was Yadi.”
Acevedo-Hernandez — who said she had to close Arroyo’s eyes at the hospital after she died — added that she wants Gonzalez to pay for what he did.
Jose Gonzalez was allegedly high on PCP when he ran over the mother of five.New York Post
“I see no remorse,” she said. “I don’t see any pity, I don’t see no repentance. I see nothing. I just see an empty shell of a person. He can’t even take responsibility for what he did.”
At one point during Tuesday’s trial, prosecutors displayed gruesome photo evidence of the ambulance’s blood-splattered driver’s side and smashed driver’s side headlight, prompting the crowd of EMTs there to gasp loudly.
Authorities have charged Gonzalez with manslaughter, robbery and vehicular manslaughter.Seth Gottfried
The other witness who testified, real-estate agent Demetrius Perez, 43, said that after Arroyo was mowed down, Gonzalez got out of the ambulance and began to fight with the quickly gathering crowd.
“I remember him attempting … to throw a punch, and then the guy grabbed him and threw him to the ground,” Perez said.
The ambulance went through an intersection and struck several cars before it came to a halt. Christopher Sadowski
Prosecutors have charged Gonzalez with first-degree manslaughter, robbery, vehicular manslaughter and operating a motor vehicle under the influence.
A surveillance video recording presented by the defense has shown Gonzalez walk up to the driver’s side door, open it and climb in. But an SUV obscured Arroyo falling out before the ambulance started to move.
Louis Montalvo, an EMT who knew Arroyo for nearly two decades, told The Post on Tuesday that “Yadi’s name needs justice.”
“The city needs justice,” Montalvo said. “Her sons need justice. Her family needs justice. We need justice. And we’re not going to stop until justice is brought. We’re going to be here every day.”
Brave bystanders lept into action Thursday to stop a woman from kidnapping a child from a Colorado Walmart, police said.
Shoppers restrained alleged kidnapper Kimberli Jones, 50, until police arrived, the city of Alamosa said.
Jones allegedly snatched “a young child” from a shopping cart inside a Walmart just before 1 p.m., cops said.
Bystanders quickly stopped Jones from stealing the kid and held her until police arrived.
Bystanders spring into action to stop a would-be kidnapper from taking a child from a Colorado Walmart.Google Maps
The innocent child was reunited safely with their parents.
Jones was slapped with kidnapping, felony menacing, child abuse and disorderly conduct,
“The Alamosa Police Department would like to thank the brave citizens, Wal-Mart staff, and community for the quick response and for being alert,” police said.
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