Yolo CountyI post this letter to the editor that appeared a few days ago in the Woodland Daily Democrat. I am not certain I agree with all of the letter. But there has always been something about the case described above that has not sit well with me.
Five of the youths were charged for crimes. Four of them were found guilty. That’s of course the headline. It is interesting that while a lot of the news accounts covered the guilty verdicts, a few of them did not note that they were acquitted of the most serious charge–attempted murder.
In fact, from what I see, only the Sacramento Bee reported that they were acquitted of the attempted murder charges.
But as Mr. McKinnon points out, this case arose about the time the original gang injunction was thrown out. It was sited as why we need the gang injunction. What Mr. Reisig never explained to us is how the gang injunction would have prevented this incident.
The rhetoric was heightened was the beginning, with Mr. Reisig referring to the suspects as “domestic terrorists.”
What does not sit well and Mr. McKinnon notes in his letter was the actions of the engineer who was attacked. Why would he get out of the train and confront them rather than call the police? Did his confrontation and punching one of the young men on the tracks six or more times, escalate the incident from simple mayhem and mischief to violence?
I am not trying to minimize the incident, but again, the media descriptions of the incident have never sat well with me. They are too neat. The incident seemed too well-timed to prove a point on the gang injunction.
Does labeling them as gang members help us in some way? Would the gang injunction have prevented this incident? Are we safer with such laws? I have often wondered.
On a personal level I believe that even gang members are covered by the constitution and are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. I will point out the obvious here as well, the legal system isn’t exactly stacked in their favor as it is. Law enforcement feels hamstrung in fighting this kinds of crime, and yet we see large numbers of young minority males in jail. There is a disconnect here, and yet I never hear people on the other side question if maybe we ought not take a little different approach to law enforcement. To acknowledge that the heavy-handed, sometimes almost militaristic mindset just isn’t an effective means by which to fight crime.
None of this unfortunately answers the questions I still have about this case, even after the convictions. I didn’t attend the trial, I wasn’t there, perhaps the case was simple and clear cut. But I still find it interesting that most news accounts never bothered to report that they were acquitted of the most serious charge.
The question here to me is not whether these individuals deserve jail time, whether they deserved to be acquitted, a court of law ruled that they did, but the question to me is whether the DA overreached in the case with some of the charges and the overall efficacy of the gang injunction as a crime fighting tool. Some of the asserted facts are bitterly disputed by residents in the affected areas.
—David M. Greenwald reporting
Mike, before we go to the whole terrorist thing, might perhaps additional security do the trick? You keep saying this is a dangerous job where conductors have to exit their cabs in dark places where gang members might be hiding in wait to attack or rob them. I believe it. But it seems to me this is a problem that can be handled by simply putting an armed security guard in the areas where these attacks are happening. This is simple law and order. Reisig has other ideas. Why? To the person who said that gangs are coming in from Mexico: That is utter bullshit. Yes, many immigrant children are joining gangs in this country, but these gangs are AMERICAN gangs. Surenos (spelled with an …u…, not an …o…), means …Southerner… in spanish but for the sake of this discussion it means gang member affiliated with the Mexican Mafia, also a product of the good old U.S.A. (see the film …American Me…). Even that infamous MS 13 was born right here in America, in the Pico Union area of West Los Angeles. They were formed to defend themselves from the 18th street tang. As many members were deported, they recruited members in El Salvador. Many are emigrating back to the US and yes, you could use this as one example of gang members coming here. But the gang was already here. The only gangs coming that with origins below the border are the cartels. They're powerful in Mexico but not that powerful here, and they are completely separate from Surenos or Nortenos. No affiliation, and they rarely do business. Again, the cartels don't have much weight here and in prison they are referred to as …border brothers…, and are basically on the sideline.If people want to focus on the cartels I could see their point. Cartels are nasty and as Mexicans take over the populations of small cities, you'd better believe the cartels are going to try and get their guys into city council seats. But who's watching? Everyone's focused on the Broderick Boys, a gang that had it's heyday over 20 years ago, and really wasn't that violent then. Broderick had some mean vatos in the '70s and '80s but I'm telling you they were mostly junkies. Most of them are grandfathers now and trying to fly straight. The younger generation? As the person above said…they aren't putting up numbers. All the violence is happening on the S. Side, and over at Natomas, Del Paso Heights, and Highlands. Sacramento's weird because most of it is unincorporated county and therefore the ghettos are spread out all over the place. Broderick Boys 14 exists but in the Sacramento region they're in the minor leagues. They're nothing a couple of security guards couldn't handle. But again, Reisig has other plans. And people are rightfully suspicious of this DA and his true motives. Peace.
Last night I watched a news story about an eight year old being charged with murder as an adult in Arizona.
The four kids convicted in this case were “around 14” at the time of the incident. I understand kids develop at different rates, but on average they do not start acting like adults until they reach 18- 22. This case belonged in Juvenile court, but it was taken to Adult court for political purposes. DA’s are making these decisions for their own personal glorification and the decisions have nothing to do with Justice.
Last night I watched a news story about an eight year old being charged with murder as an adult in Arizona.
The four kids convicted in this case were “around 14” at the time of the incident. I understand kids develop at different rates, but on average they do not start acting like adults until they reach 18- 22. This case belonged in Juvenile court, but it was taken to Adult court for political purposes. DA’s are making these decisions for their own personal glorification and the decisions have nothing to do with Justice.
Last night I watched a news story about an eight year old being charged with murder as an adult in Arizona.
The four kids convicted in this case were “around 14” at the time of the incident. I understand kids develop at different rates, but on average they do not start acting like adults until they reach 18- 22. This case belonged in Juvenile court, but it was taken to Adult court for political purposes. DA’s are making these decisions for their own personal glorification and the decisions have nothing to do with Justice.
Last night I watched a news story about an eight year old being charged with murder as an adult in Arizona.
The four kids convicted in this case were “around 14” at the time of the incident. I understand kids develop at different rates, but on average they do not start acting like adults until they reach 18- 22. This case belonged in Juvenile court, but it was taken to Adult court for political purposes. DA’s are making these decisions for their own personal glorification and the decisions have nothing to do with Justice.
Personally, I would have had the little jerks hung.
The conductor has to get out of the train to switch the train from one track to another. It is an incredibly dangerous job to do in West Sacramento thanks to this gang. The crew has no choice and when they go out, they are frequently attacked. This is a Federal crime and it is considered to be a terrorist act. it is no different than trying to stick a knife into the co-pilot of a commercial jetliner.
A practical solution would be for the crews to be allowed to carry shotguns and simply shoot the little monsters if they are out there- but Amtrak doesn’t allow it.
Sorry, but I think the DA should have pushed harder and gotten the attempted murder charges.
By definition this was a terrorist attack…
Personally, I would have had the little jerks hung.
The conductor has to get out of the train to switch the train from one track to another. It is an incredibly dangerous job to do in West Sacramento thanks to this gang. The crew has no choice and when they go out, they are frequently attacked. This is a Federal crime and it is considered to be a terrorist act. it is no different than trying to stick a knife into the co-pilot of a commercial jetliner.
A practical solution would be for the crews to be allowed to carry shotguns and simply shoot the little monsters if they are out there- but Amtrak doesn’t allow it.
Sorry, but I think the DA should have pushed harder and gotten the attempted murder charges.
By definition this was a terrorist attack…
Personally, I would have had the little jerks hung.
The conductor has to get out of the train to switch the train from one track to another. It is an incredibly dangerous job to do in West Sacramento thanks to this gang. The crew has no choice and when they go out, they are frequently attacked. This is a Federal crime and it is considered to be a terrorist act. it is no different than trying to stick a knife into the co-pilot of a commercial jetliner.
A practical solution would be for the crews to be allowed to carry shotguns and simply shoot the little monsters if they are out there- but Amtrak doesn’t allow it.
Sorry, but I think the DA should have pushed harder and gotten the attempted murder charges.
By definition this was a terrorist attack…
Personally, I would have had the little jerks hung.
The conductor has to get out of the train to switch the train from one track to another. It is an incredibly dangerous job to do in West Sacramento thanks to this gang. The crew has no choice and when they go out, they are frequently attacked. This is a Federal crime and it is considered to be a terrorist act. it is no different than trying to stick a knife into the co-pilot of a commercial jetliner.
A practical solution would be for the crews to be allowed to carry shotguns and simply shoot the little monsters if they are out there- but Amtrak doesn’t allow it.
Sorry, but I think the DA should have pushed harder and gotten the attempted murder charges.
By definition this was a terrorist attack…
“it is no different than trying to stick a knife into the co-pilot of a commercial jetliner.”
except they were not on the train
“By definition this was a terrorist attack…”
The is a new definition. Go back to 2001 and then review all of the cases prior to that – there was no thought of defining such an act as a terrorist act.
“it is no different than trying to stick a knife into the co-pilot of a commercial jetliner.”
except they were not on the train
“By definition this was a terrorist attack…”
The is a new definition. Go back to 2001 and then review all of the cases prior to that – there was no thought of defining such an act as a terrorist act.
“it is no different than trying to stick a knife into the co-pilot of a commercial jetliner.”
except they were not on the train
“By definition this was a terrorist attack…”
The is a new definition. Go back to 2001 and then review all of the cases prior to that – there was no thought of defining such an act as a terrorist act.
“it is no different than trying to stick a knife into the co-pilot of a commercial jetliner.”
except they were not on the train
“By definition this was a terrorist attack…”
The is a new definition. Go back to 2001 and then review all of the cases prior to that – there was no thought of defining such an act as a terrorist act.
Mr. McKinnon, were the young men Mexicans or were they Americans? Your letter states the former. I don’t know, thus the question.