Crime and Punishment in the Maryland Counties (and the City of Baltimore) (violent crime)

[The Bo]

There are clearly some counties in the state where the courts bring the hammer down on criminals. The Western Maryland counties seem to come to mind, God love'em. It's hard to imagine that in the same relatively small state, there are counties where you can be convicted of stealing a car and not do a single day in jail. (And I don't say that as hyperbole; I'm dead serious.) These are the counties where the judges see fit to coddle even career criminals in the name of "high-minded ideals," a euphemism for political correctness and the cult of victimology. I think you have an idea which counties (and city) I may be referring to.

The latter counties (and cities) tend to be more liberal and take the aforementioned approach to crime and punishment, but what I can't seem to grasp is why? Do "liberals" enjoy getting their cars stolen? Do they enjoy getting raped and robbed, or God forbid, having a loved one murdered?

I'm a life-long Democrat, something that probably will never change, and have never voted for a Republican in my life, something that will probably also never change. I thought I was a liberal until I entered the field of law enforcement in one of the counties that has become a playground for criminals and where the police and prosecutors can't get a fair shake for the reasons mentioned. (I know; police and prosecutors not getting a fair shake sounds counter-intuitive, doesn't it? It may, but where I am, it's the reality on the ground.)

There exists in this nation the popular conception that our criminal justice system is deeply flawed and many innocent defendants are convicted of crimes that they didn't commit. I can tell you, at least from my firsthand experience in the trenches everyday, criminals walking out of the courthouse free men and women because of either the poor judgment of judges or the judges' extreme, misguided, and unwarranted leniency is par for the course, at least in the counties (and city) of this state that I have focused on.

So what's the solution? Is it who we select as judges? I think that forms the largest part of the solution. I suppose it shouldn't be terribly ironic that some of the very small handful of judges in my county who can even be remotely viewed as "hanging judges" have been victims of crime at one point and empathize with crime victims. But the problem is that it's the defense bar, for the most part, that plays an instrumental role in the selection of judges. If you didn't think this was a fixed fight from the get-go, let me dis-abuse you of that notion.

Anyhow, what do you folks make of all this? What have your experiences been in your county (or city)? Have you been able to compare/contrast them with experiences elsewhere? I'm sure some of you may have at some point found yourselves in District (or God forbid Circuit) Court as a victim of crime. I'd be interested to hear your insights.

[cool rob]

I understand your anger and frustration regarding the hard core criminals escaping prosecution as I also work in the criminal justice system, however it all boils down to one thing...MONEY!

It costs (im guessing here) about 10-20 thousand to house, prosecute, and convict a person (for lets say, car theft). Now in Western Maryland, you have maybe (once gain guessing) 5 murders a year, 10 stolen cars, 5 rapes, etc. Prosecuting each and every one of those crimes at the same rate of 10-20 is doable in the budget of those areas.

However in lets say Baltimore City, which averages 150 plus murders a year, along with a slew of other violent crimes, it is nearly impossible to spend 10-20 grand on prosecuting a stolen car case. That money is set aside for the hard core criminals, the three time losers, the handgun and drug predicates, and all of the other crimes of violence (rape, child abuse, sex offenses, carjackings and robberies, assaults, arsons, etc.)

Also their is still no guarantee that spending that 10-20 thousand on special witnesses, drug experts, fingerprint guys, corrections costs, healthcare, etc. that you will get an conviction.

So 9 times out of 10, the state will just let the 18 year old car theft guy, cop out to unauthorized use of a Motor vehicle, get community service or a PBJ, and HOPE that he/she doesn't graduate to more serious crimes in order to avoid the expense of a jury trial.

And in many cases they will let the armed robbery guy cop out to petty theft or a handgun violation, give him intense probation and wait for him to get two more handgun convictions, then he is up for Exhile, or a mandatory sentence.