No criminal punishment can heal the hearts of the families whose loved ones have been so cruelly taken from them.
Policymakers have a duty to provide a set of laws and systems that provide for swift and fair justice while protecting the safety of the public. A system that has a bent for “fairness” at the expense of public safety is a system that allows for too many victims. This appears to be the case with the senseless crime that occurred in Waukesha at the Holiday Parade.
A day after a horrific crime that killed five and injured an additional 48 people, we’ve learned that the suspect had a lengthy criminal record. On Friday, he posted just a $1,000 bond in a criminal case that included domestic abuse and felony bail jumping. At the time of the Parade homicides, the suspect was allegedly fleeing from the scene of another domestic incident.
The soft-on-crime Milwaukee County politicians and judges should be ashamed. They are, in part, culpable for the suffering and mourning today in Waukesha, and have shown an utter disregard for community safety. Their flawed interpretation of what constitutes reasonable bail seems willfully ignorant of the State Constitution, bail statutes, and human behavior. Milwaukee County District Attorney Chisholm has now admitted that the bail was “inappropriately low,” and his office is conducting an internal review.
Court commissioners and judges routinely fail to set bail at what seems like appropriate levels. We have seen time and again people released on bail in Milwaukee and Waukesha Counties who have gone on to kill and injure innocent people. When will it end? What human toll has to be paid before we say “ENOUGH!”?
The person in custody is presumed innocent. He deserves a fair trial and a just punishment for the evil wrought on our community. Even so, Christ calls us to forgive, not just for the sake of those who wronged us, but for our sake as well. I pray our community can dispense both justice and forgiveness for those who have trespassed against us.
