Seattle has been under siege since the shooting of George Floyd and the city fathers and county officials have done little to secure the streets for their law-abiding citizens. But the county prosecutor has launched a new “re-imagined” justice platform that, in the end, will cost taxpayers more than just their streets.
Seattle, Washington is location in King County and County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg believes that he has come up with an alternative, “re-imagined” way to punish people for committing crimes in his county.
King County has instituted an experimental program where first-time, non-violent criminals won’t see jail time for crimes. Neither will they pay restitution. It’s all apart of Seattle’s “re-imagined” justice.
Rather than being truly punished for breaking the law, suspects will now be given a pass from having to serve any jailtime. In fact, they won’t even be branded with a criminal record. Instead, they will face a “community panel” and they will choose the punishment.
There’s a kicker. The perpetrator won’t have to worry about paying restitution to the victims. If restitution is awarded the county taxpayers will pay for the crimes – literally.
And although most of these types of crimes disproportionately occur in the City of Seattle, the restitution tax burden will be spread across all county taxpayers.
Under what Satterberg has coined the “restorative justice” program, non-violent, first-time felons will face a non-profit community panel. It will be the panel that decides how the offender will be “held accountable.” Satterberg didn’t bother to accurately define what he means by “accountable.”
Under a new, experimental program in Seattle and King County, first-time criminals will not see jail time for their crimes nor pay restitution. Who will? Taxpayers, of course.https://t.co/IAsr7MLB7m
— (((Jason Rantz))) on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) November 30, 2020
“We can send that person instead (of jail) to a community accountability group, who will define what they think accountability means,” Satterberg told a local television station.
With regard to victim restitution, Satterberg argued, “Sometimes it can take years before restitution is paid to a victim and the person responsible may repeatedly come back to court when they don’t pay,” Satterberg said. “The reality of the situation right now is, victims are not being taken care of. This will help us take care of their immediate needs to a cap of, say, $500.”
Antifa and Black Lives Matter protesters could not be reached for comment.