Asphyxiation Point has seen its share of crime since this summer and city council members have been receiving pressure from the Attorney General and the Governor of Maine to clean the city up or drastic measures would have to be taken against the small island. Even citizens have been heard complaining about the lack of prosecution of the criminal element.
AP Times interviewed the new District Attorney, Madison Monroe and asked her why there was such a backlog of cases. "Recently some changes were made to the system where lawyers were being appointed to both defend and prosecute. In addition, the DA's job was removed and given the title of a Court Administrator. They also removed our residing judge and forced us to have a judge from the mainland come to the island. This created a scheduling nightmare for the visiting judges, the court house staff, and those trying to navigate the criminal justice system. In essence, it did the opposite of stream lining the system. Since taking over at the Court House, I have reestablished the normal operating procedures. with defense attorneys, prosecutors, and our very own judge that lives here on the island."
We approached the city council to find out what else was going to be done about the increasing crime rate in Asphyxiation Point. They announced a press conference for later in the day. The room was full with reporters and citizens when the five city council members announced that they have taken the advice of the Attorney General and the Governor of Maine and revised the way criminals in AP would be sentenced. The president of the council stated as part of his remarks, "We have been made aware of many studies that show that jailing criminals is not an effective way to rehabilitate them. Indeed, if anything jails are an incubator for breeding more violent offenders that are ten times more likely to commit crimes when they are released. Therefore we are instituting new mandatory minimums and maximums that include monetary restitution, community service, house arrest, and mandatory state paid counseling. Once suspects are arrested and released on bail, the District Attorney will proceed as normal with deciding if the case has merit to go to trail or be offered a deal but criminals will now be given the help they need through counseling and community service."
After the press conference we caught up to District Attorney Monroe and asked for her response on this new system. "I have just been given the documentation of these new mandatory minimums and maximums and I will tell you what will happen. We will see an increase in crime as there is no real deterrents to criminal behavior. I also predict that we will see an increase in vigilante justice as victims decide to take justice into their own hands."
We contacted Chief DeSanta by phone and asked him his opinion of this new restructuring. His response was a muttered "gorram morons" before he hung up.
How these changes affect Asphyxiation Point remains to be seen but one thing is for certain, if criminals are trapped in their houses under house arrest instead of going to jail, there might be an increase in babies on the island.
AP Times interviewed the new District Attorney, Madison Monroe and asked her why there was such a backlog of cases. "Recently some changes were made to the system where lawyers were being appointed to both defend and prosecute. In addition, the DA's job was removed and given the title of a Court Administrator. They also removed our residing judge and forced us to have a judge from the mainland come to the island. This created a scheduling nightmare for the visiting judges, the court house staff, and those trying to navigate the criminal justice system. In essence, it did the opposite of stream lining the system. Since taking over at the Court House, I have reestablished the normal operating procedures. with defense attorneys, prosecutors, and our very own judge that lives here on the island."
We approached the city council to find out what else was going to be done about the increasing crime rate in Asphyxiation Point. They announced a press conference for later in the day. The room was full with reporters and citizens when the five city council members announced that they have taken the advice of the Attorney General and the Governor of Maine and revised the way criminals in AP would be sentenced. The president of the council stated as part of his remarks, "We have been made aware of many studies that show that jailing criminals is not an effective way to rehabilitate them. Indeed, if anything jails are an incubator for breeding more violent offenders that are ten times more likely to commit crimes when they are released. Therefore we are instituting new mandatory minimums and maximums that include monetary restitution, community service, house arrest, and mandatory state paid counseling. Once suspects are arrested and released on bail, the District Attorney will proceed as normal with deciding if the case has merit to go to trail or be offered a deal but criminals will now be given the help they need through counseling and community service."
After the press conference we caught up to District Attorney Monroe and asked for her response on this new system. "I have just been given the documentation of these new mandatory minimums and maximums and I will tell you what will happen. We will see an increase in crime as there is no real deterrents to criminal behavior. I also predict that we will see an increase in vigilante justice as victims decide to take justice into their own hands."
We contacted Chief DeSanta by phone and asked him his opinion of this new restructuring. His response was a muttered "gorram morons" before he hung up.
How these changes affect Asphyxiation Point remains to be seen but one thing is for certain, if criminals are trapped in their houses under house arrest instead of going to jail, there might be an increase in babies on the island.
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