File this one under – you can’t make this stuff up.
Bill Melugin of FoxLA reports that an LA County Sheriff released 4,276 nonviolent inmates from the county jail — 25% of the inmate population. It helped prevent the spread of coronavirus among criminals. Now, however, he is afraid of a possible surge in crime.
Sheriff Villanueva says LASD was the first department in the country to do this, starting in late February, and only dangerous criminals are still in the jail, including 1,200 charged with murder. For that reason, no more releases, and a doubling up on deputy patrols.
The Sheriff admits some of the pre-trial detainees will not show up for their court dates, and felony warrants will end up being issued for them to re-arrest. “We were faced with a choice, if we left the jail system overpopulated, the pandemic would have swept through easily.”
What do people who think like this presume will happen?
LA County Sheriff tells me he has released 4,276 nonviolent inmates from county jail, which equates to 25% of the inmate population. He says it's been effective in preventing spread of #COVID19, with only 11 inmates infected, but now fears a possible surge in crime. 10pm @FOXLA pic.twitter.com/kI7ID8gaG6
— Bill Melugin (@BillFOXLA) April 14, 2020
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