The following are just 3 out of a smorgasbord of reasons why we think that violent crime is of no consequence to young men and women in the District of Columbia.
1. Jail in this city is like a revolving door. In one day, out the next.
2. Washington, D.C. is a very unique city, small in comparison to other major metropolitan cities across the country. Would be criminals, born and raised in the District of Columbia, for the most part know each other from the neighborhood or have met by way of mutual friends across the city. As a result, incarceration in DC Jail means little to nothing to most of these home-grown, violent offenders because a jail sentence here is tantamount to being sent back home to their local neighborhood to be greeted with a hero’s welcome by childhood friends and others when they arrive.
3. Criminals and/or potential criminals know that DC does not have the Death Penalty, so despite the fact that they commit and get convicted of a willful act of Capital Murder, they know that at the most they will merely spend time in jail with friends and probably end up back on the street someday with a chance to resume their life.
Resuming life is something that Kevin Joseph Sutherland and many other victims who have lost their lives to violent crime will never be able to do again. What are your thoughts on this subject DC?
Dateline: Washington, D.C. 