The Edward Williams Murder Case: The COVID-19 Effect

     So-called social justice advocates do not, in general, like the idea of jails and prisons. These self-righteous do-gooders do not believe non-violent criminal offenders should be put behind bars. They don't think these crimes are worthy of incarceration even though the criminal law calls for prison sentences in non-violent crimes such as theft, burglary, stalking, drug trafficking, felons in possession of guns, vandalism, pornography, perjury, forgery, arson, property hit and run, and other crimes against property, morality and public order. The vast majority of crimes committed in this country are non-violent.

     These soft-on-crime proponents have used the COVID-19 crisis to further their agenda of emptying our jails and prisons. Because the general public does not support lighter sentencing for non-violent criminals, taking advantage of the pandemic is the only way these criminal justice sob sisters can achieve their goals.

     In Los Angeles County, at any given time, the jail system holds 17,000 inmates awaiting trial. Since early April 2020, the sheriff of Los Angeles County, citing the potential spread of the coronavirus, has released 4,000 suspects of non-violent crimes.

     Aware of the reality that merely because a person who is in custody on suspicion of a relatively minor offense does not mean this person is not a major criminal, the sheriff warned citizens there would be increased crime in their communities. This meant law abiding citizens in southern California who had lost their jobs to COVID-19, were essentially imprisoned in their homes, and were prohibited from buying guns to protect themselves, had to worry about being victimized by people who should be in custody.

     On March 19, 2020 in Hillsborough County, Florida, a local judge authorized Sheriff Chad Cronister to "release any pretrial detainee [jail inmate] arrested for a municipal or county ordinance, a misdemeanor offense, a criminal traffic offense [DWI, reckless driving, property hit and run], or a third-degree felony offense." The stated justification for springing these prisoners: "To protect the inmates, deputies, and staff working within the jails."

     So, due to COVID-19, public safety was no longer a law enforcement priority. Safety was now about protecting inmates and government employees. Inmates, instead of infecting each other, had the freedom to disobey social distancing and other public health guidelines, get sick, and infect law abiding citizens. This, of course, makes sense to social justice advocates who blame society for turning people into criminals.

     One doesn't have to be clairvoyant to predict what happens when suspects awaiting trial for "non-violent" crimes are prematurely turned loose. Take the case of Edward Williams.

     On March 19, 2020, 26-year-old Edward Williams was one of 164 Hillsborough County jail inmates set free. Williams, a resident of Tampa, had been arrested on March 13, 2020 on charges of heroin possession, a third-degree felony, and possession of drug paraphernalia, a misdemeanor offense. While these are relatively minor crimes, Mr. Williams was not a minor criminal. He wasn't some businessman who got drunk and wiped out a telephone pole.

    Edward Williams had an extensive criminal history involving 35 criminal charges that included theft, burglary, drug possession, drug sales, and firearm violations. His five convictions involved felony charges reduced to misdemeanors pursuant to plea bargains. The fact he had tattooed his face suggested he wasn't preparing himself for gainful employment.

     On Saturday night, March 20, 2020, the day after Sheriff Cronister opened the jail doors, a Hillsborough County 911 dispatcher received several calls regarding shots fired in Progressive Village, a low-income housing community in suburban Tampa.

     At the crime scene, deputies found a man lying on the sidewalk who had been shot. Paramedics rushed the victim to Tampa General Hospital where, a short time later, he died.

     On Sunday, the day after the fatal shooting, Hillsborough deputies arrested Edward Williams on the charges of second-degree murder, illegal gun possession, violently resisting arrest, and possession of heroin. The charges stemmed from the murder of the unidentified victim in Progressive Village.

     Following Williams' arrest, the "non-violent" criminal was back in a Hillsborough County jail, this time under a $280,500 murder bond.

Joe Biden's List of Favorite Books

Joe Biden recently referred to COVID-19 as COVID-9. Not surprisingly, the list of his favorite books include: Catch 21, Two Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Stalog 18, The Postman Rings Trice, A Tale of Three Cities, Slaughterhouse-Six, Fifty-One Shades of Grey, and Eight Days in May.

A Nation of "Heroes"

America is a nation of "heroes." There are tens of thousands of them. Television news readers and commentators often refer to all military personnel, law enforcement officers, and firefighters as heroes. Now, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, even grocery store cashiers have been referred to as heroes. There are, of course, true war heroes, brave cops, heroic firefighters and health care workers on the front lines of the coronavirus battle. But all of them? If everybody is a hero, then no one is. In the fields of education, literature, science, business, law, and journalism, there are real heroes, too, but we seldom hear of them. I guess there are even political heroes, but at the moment, none come to mind. If there is one segment of American society where there are no heroes and a lot of heels, it is the media.

Governor Whitmer, Tear Down That Wall

     Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, on March 23, 2020, issued an order that "all public and private gatherings of any size are prohibited." A few days later, the governor extended the order directing residents to stay in their homes until May 1, 2020. The order barred citizens of Michigan from "buying nonessential items or traveling between residents." (Big government politicians like the power of determining, for everyone under their rule, what is essential and what is not. These people think that government leaders know what's best for their subjects.)

     As a result of the most aggressive--one could say oppressive--COVID-19 related order in the country, people who live in Michigan cannot visit their vacation cottages while residents from outside Michigan can travel to their summer homes in the state. (This is what happens when we let government types think for us.)

     Under Whitmer's decree, Michigan residents cannot go out and purchase paint and garden equipment but they are allowed to buy lottery tickets.

     If Americans sit back and continue to allow government officials like Whitmer control their lives, the day may come when we no longer live in a free country. If we're lucky, we may still be allowed to buy lottery tickets. 

Vandalism: A Pathological Crime

      A pathological crime is a crime that, to a rational person, doesn't make any sense. Acts of vandalism often fall into this category. Most vandals are either mentally ill, emotionally unbalanced and/or acting under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Some of them are dangerous.

     At seven o'clock on Friday morning, April 10, 2020, health care workers at the New York-Presbyterian Hudson Valley Hospital in Cortlandt, New York, upon completing their overnight shifts, found that someone had slashed 22 tires in the hospital parking lot.

     Later that day, officers with the New York State Police arrested Daniel Hall, a 24-year-old from Peekskill, New York. Booked into the Westchester County Jail, Hall faced charges of criminal mischief in the second degree, auto stripping, and possession of a controlled substance (PCP) in the fifth degree.

     The magistrate set Daniel Hall's bail at $1,500.

     A spokesperson announced that the hospital would pay the costs of repairing or replacing the 22 tires the vandal had slashed. 

Attack Journalism in the Era of Fake News

Decency and justice requires that before the accusation of a serious crime of moral turpitude is made public by the authorities or the media, there must be, at the very least, enough evidence to support an arrest of the accused. This is particularly true if the accused is a public person of excellent reputation whose career depends on his or her high character. This also applies if, due to the passage of time and vagueness of the accusation, it is extremely difficult for the accused to establish his or her innocence. Just because an accused is presumed innocent in law does not mean that person will be presumed innocent by the public at large. Shame on any politician or journalist who intentionally violates this basic tenet of human decency. Stirring up public anger and resentment through unproven crime accusation puts everyone at the mercy of an angry, politically motivated mob. This has happened in the McCarthy era, the McMartin Preschool Child Abuse Case, the Memphis Three Murder Case, and the JonBonet Ramsey Case. And as politics in America has degenerated into what Vincent Foster once called "blood sport," and objective journalism has been replaced by fake news, the unfounded accusation has become the politician's weapon of choice.

Science Fiction Versus Fantasy

If the story is set in a universe that follows the same rules as ours, it's science fiction. If it's set in a universe that doesn't follow our rules, it's fantasy. [It's the rocket ship versus the magic carpet.]

Orson Scott Card, How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy, 1990

Coronavirus Kills Brooklyn Civil Court Judge

     In New York City on March 12, 2020, 64-year-old Brooklyn Supreme Court Civil Judge Johnny Lee Baynes conducted business as usual in a courtroom packed with lawyers, clients, court officers and clerks. One of the attorneys in the room that day asked the judge if it were appropriate, given the COVID-19 pandemic, for so many people to be crowded in such a small place. In response, Judge Baynes said, "If you don't like it you can leave." Following that exchange, the court session continued.

     On March 16, 2020, trials and hearing at the Brooklyn Supreme Court Civil Administration Building were suspended due to the pandemic. The day before the courthouse closed, a lawyer who had visited the building a few days earlier tested positive for the virus.

     On March 26, 2020, Judge Baynes died of the coronavirus. Three other judges who worked in the building tested positive for the disease. One of these judges, Lawrence Knipel, had to be hospitalized. 

Learning to Live with Big Brother

    We are being watched. Surveillance cameras are all around us. They are installed on traffic lights, toll booths, homes, commercial buildings, utility poles, and police officers. They are inside stores, banks, schools, churches, courthouses, elevators, stadiums, hospitals, buses, trains and home computers. And there are almost as many cellphone cameras around as people. Google is watching us from above, and our daily activities can be surveilled and recorded by drones. There is nowhere to hide from the eyes of big tech, commerce, and big government. Even George Orwell couldn't have foreseen the modern surveillance state. The year 2020 might be remembered as the year 20-20 (surveillance vision).

     On March 21, 2020, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy ordered people in public places to stop gathering and to stay at home.

     The mayor of Elizabeth, New Jersey, on April 7, 2020, launched a fleet of drones to enforce the governor's order. While flying above parks and other places where people normally congregate, the flying cameras blast a recorded message telling citizens to stop gathering. They are ordered to go home and stay there. (Unless they have to go for groceries or for drugs. Those who still have jobs can go to work.)

     Citizen who are caught by drone surveillance violating the governor's social distancing order can be fined up to $1,000. This at a time when the people in violation of the COVID-19 inspired order are unemployed and have no money because the government has closed down their places of employment.

     For people who lust for massive, personally invasive all-controlling government, pandemics are a gift from heaven.

Too Smart For Our Own Good?

Perhaps we overvalue knowledge and great intelligence. It was, after all, the smart guys who may have drastically shortened the history of life on this planet by inventing the atomic bomb. How intelligent was that? Knowledge is not only power, it is vanity, and it can be dangerous. Advanced intelligence and knowledge does not necessarily come with morality or wisdom. It can, and has been put to terrible use. Humans may have outsmarted themselves into oblivion.