Dean's World

Well, you know it’s cold up there, and that’s the only reason I can think of for La Crosse County’s new plan to let all its female prisoners out of jail. It must be brain freeze.

The article outlining the program, in the La Crosse Tribune, quotes a local defense attorney as saying in 15 years he’s never represented a woman who was put in jail because she’s dangerous.

“I’m not saying there won’t ever be a woman in La Crosse County who’s dangerous and needs to be locked up for the safety of the community,” said Belzer. “I will say that would be the rare exception rather than the rule.”

He also says women are almost always in the system “because of some kind of relationship with a man.”

Of course he’d say that – he’s a defense attorney!

There are so many problems with this issue, both legal and moral, I hardly know where to begin.

Maybe the worst of it is that the county is acting on the advice of The Carey Group, which according its website, is a real estate development consulting firm. Huh????

I’m at a loss for words.

(link)

Arnold Harris (mail):

Trudy,

Take my word for it. It gets very cold in La Crosse, and thus easy to freeze organic matter. Especially over the winter months.

Arnold Harris
Mount Horeb WI

12.28.2007 7:59am

Dishman (mail):

The amount of money they're talking about saving can be eaten up entirely in one appeals court battle. Once the program starts, any male convicted and sent to jail can appeal on equal protection grounds.

Mr. Belzer has, as a County Supervisor, certainly set a reasonable basis to believe that the policy is explicitly discriminatory.

12.28.2007 10:57am

Dean Cochrane (www):

I don't think it requires Belzer's comments to establish that it is blatantly discriminatory.

I'm still mostly speechless.

12.28.2007 12:29pm

Martin L. Shoemaker (www):

My prediction is that they hoped to slip this by during the year end news lull; and that now that it has drawn attention, this dumb plan will quietly fade away.

12.28.2007 12:37pm

McKiernan:

Arnold,

I have to ask my alltime favorite question for those living in the mid-west (Michigan, Wisc, Illinois, Minn).

Have you ever been ice fishing ?

12.28.2007 7:05pm

Mike (mail):

McKiernan:
No, I have not. Freeze my parts off on the chance of catching a trout? Not!

12.31.2007 8:55am

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