(TotalConservative.com) – Washington D.C. was set to attempt a sweeping reform to its criminal justice code, but the city has decided to pull the plug on the plan. Congress will likely vote to condemn it via a resolution anyway. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) confirmed the vote will take place as scheduled despite the city’s decision to withdraw the proposal.
The announcement came from City Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, who attempted to dig Republicans for hosting a “hollow vote” without offering an explanation as to why the plan was pulled after they had voted to pass it despite a veto from D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser.
Opponents to the changes lambasted them as soft on crime, with provisions that softened the penalties and allowed early release for folks convicted of murder or assault. Bowser, herself a Democrat, spoke of the penalty reductions as “send[ing] the wrong message.” She was also concerned about the number of trials skyrocketing which would dramatically hamper an already stressed legal system. Perhaps that was part of the intention.
Left-wing outlets and authors have rushed to defend the proposal with piles of legalese and questionable claims. As major cities around the country deal with the fallout from their own defund the police calamities, any potential to inflame crime with “reforms” should be highly scrutinized.
The city council is also notoriously partisan, without a single Republican member, and as such folks should be rightly curious about any radical changes to metropolitan law enforcement procedures.
Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN) has been a vocal opponent of the plan, he called the last-minute cancelation of the proposal a “desperate, made-up maneuver” with no basis in law. He reiterated his position that the plan was soft on crime and would make residents and visitors less safe if passed.
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