Our In-Justice System
They claim that their objective is to be fair and impartial and to rehabilitate people who commit crimes so that they can become more productive members of society. Sounds nice on paper, but that is a far cry from what our courts have become. I have had the unfortunate circumstance to witness this first hand here in Lee County in the Federal Court Building with Judge Chapell presiding this past Thursday June 18th.
June 16th. There was a knock at the door. It was the US Marshal. We have a warrant for your boyfriend J's arrest on an escape charge from the District of Columbia, said the bearded rough-looking man. And with that they cuffed him and took him away.
Four years ago my boyfriend had been living in DC and yes, he had a drinking problem as well as an anger-management issue and a fairly extensive record. He was at a club when a fight broke out that the police report clearly states the other guy started. The Police were called and because the other party involved in the fight was black it was deemed a hate crime, which carries a heavier charge. J is in no way a racist.
At that time the Judge sentenced him to 60 days in a halfway house, also in the District of Columbia. When he arrived he was the only white person there, and many of the others heard about the hate crime that J had supposedly committed. His life was threatened repeatedly and yes, he left partly in fear for his life.
But at this time as well a friend/co-worker of his was being badly abused by her husband. He had gone so far as to break both of her hands so she couldn't dial out or email anyone for help and would be totally dependant on him. J saw that no one else was there to help her and despite the damage it would cause in his life he felt compelled to help. As for why he didn't go back? Honestly, he was terrified. The DC Prison, the other most likely place they would put him, was much the same way as the halfway house, only worse and more crowded.
About a year and a half ago he had another brush with the law where they had recognized him in the airport and picked him up for the probation violation (which is what he thought leaving the halfway house was) and they put him in Rockingham, VA prison for several months. After paying hefty fines he was released and put on a hold for DC. He sat there for 5 days wondering if the DC police had another charge not showing on his record for them to be holding him and not knowing what was going to happen.
After 5 days the Rockingham County Sherriff says, you can go, they are not coming for you, they must have no paper on you, which essentially means that in DC they are terribly busy, too busy to deal with petty crimes like this. So with that said and a sigh of relief, he headed home to Florida, where he has resided here in Lee County for nearly 3 years.
In that time he has stopped drinking liquor, stopped smoking, enrolled in school, and is working towards a degree in Network Technology. He is the President of the IT Club, chairman of the community events committee for the club, has a 4.0 GPA and is on the Dean's list. His quarter nearly over with the exception of two finals to take, he now has this giant roadblock to his bright future.
His attorney asked for leniency at his bond hearing with Judge Chappell on Thursday, stating that he was not a flight risk as he has strong ties to the community here in Ft. Myers. To which the judge replied, No, he has been in hiding, bond not granted. He then tried just to free him in order to take the two final exams and then to be remanded back in to custody. Again, a resounding no.
At this point, out of order, I stood up and said to the judge directly, How can someone be in hiding when they are enrolled in school, getting government grants, paying their child support, paying their taxes to the IRS, and receiving mail at the same address for over 2 years? And on top of that he has 2 final exams that if not taken will set him back even further in the progress your court claims they wish for people to make.
And furthermore, why on earth would he have gone and turned himself in if he thought the charges had been dropped? Why didn't DC come get him when they had him on a hold in Rockingham, VA? She threatened me with contempt of court. I just glared at her. God forbid they consider the truth in the outcome of a case.
Our justice system. That's a laugh. They do not care about justice. They do not care about rehabilitating anyone; all they want is money. I offered to put my condo up as collateral for the bond and, had the market not gone bad, that would have been fine. And they even alluded to the fact that they would have let him go, but because there wasn't enough money there, he is now sitting rotting in Lee County Jail, unable to complete his schooling, waiting to be transported to Washington, DC, where he will stand trial hopefully with a judge who can see that he has rehabilitated himself and is not the same person who walked away from that halfway house.
He no longer drinks or smokes, and is a productive member of society. The one thing that will not change, though, is our financial situation. We cannot afford to buy his way out of this. I am outraged. This country is supposed to be based on the idea of innocent until proven guilty not innocent if your wallet is fat enough.
Signed,
Angry Tax Paying Citizen & Girlfriend of the Accused.