When liberal governments fight to keep criminals on the street, where do you go for justice?
This is the sort of thing that would only happen in Seattle (okay, maybe in Portland). A 55-year-old homeless man named Francisco Calderon punched a complete stranger in the mouth one day in November, giving him a bloody lip. The victim called 911 and Calderon was arrested and charged with assault. He pleaded guilty to the crime. That turned out to be his 72nd time being convicted of a crime, fourteen of those convictions were felonies. And yet, City Attorney Pete Holmes worked out a plea deal with Calderon’s public defender which would keep him out of jail. Instead, he would get probation and drug treatment. Enter Municipal Court Judge Ed McKenna whose job it was to sentence Calderon. McKenna wasn’t convinced no jail time was appropriate in the case and questioned the plea deal.
…When the case was first brought to Seattle Municipal Court Judge Ed McKenna for sentencing on Dec. 10, he questioned the Assistant City Attorney about the plea deal in light of his Calderon’s long criminal history. The city attorney stood by the deal.
McKenna then asked that Calderon undergo a pre-sentencing review so he could better understand Calderon’s personal history before passing judgement. He also asked the Assistant City Attorney to review the plea deal, a message which could be interpreted as he was unhappy with it.