Rantz: ACLU of Wash. mad Marysville leaders may put criminals in jail

The city of Marysville may start putting prolific offenders in jail and the ACLU of Washington is upset. That means the plan is a good one.

Mayor Jon Nehring, City Attorney Jon Walker and Police Chief Erik Scairpon are working on an ordinance that would impose mandatory minimum sentences of at least 30 days in jail for criminals who repeatedly commit “public disorder crimes.” As of now, that includes third-degree theft, vehicle prowling, trespassing and public drug use. Most of these crimes are due to the drug crisis thanks to Democrat efforts to legalize illicit substance abuse.

To Nehring, jail can be “an important tool” in getting the crisis under control. While treatment would be offered, these are prolific criminals who choose to say no to resources. It sometimes takes the threat of jailtime or actual jail time to get someone to say yes to our generous offers of support.

To Jazmyn Clark, the Smart Justice campaign policy program director for the ACLU of Washington, jailing someone who keeps breaking the law is a draconian move. Clark doesn’t know what she’s talking about.

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Democrats think criminals are victims

In an interview with The Everett Herald, Clark came out against the idea. She leaned on the same talking points the Radical Left normally use.

She won’t take responsibility for the mess the ACLU of Washington caused when they backed radical policies legalizing drugs and keeping criminals out of jail. Instead, they pretend the criminal is the victim.

“Incarceration itself is incredibly disruptive to people’s lives. You’re talking about a potential loss of employment, loss of housing, loss of the custody of their children, loss of any type of government resources,” she said as she pretended the people we’re talking about aren’t homeless, jobless and spiraling deeper into despair. She added, “We cannot punish people into recovery.”

Missing from Clark’s statement? Any mention of the victims of the drug addict’s crimes.

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ACLU, as usual, misses the point

It’s possible Clark has never spoken to any recovering addicts. Or she and her radical friends at the ACLU of Washington just don’t care what they have to say.

But when you speak to addicts, many will tell you that they needed consequences for their behaviors before they got their life in order. Sometimes that means a loss of a job or relationship; for others, it means going to jail. When you’re a repeat offender who keeps using, it’s time for society to take more dramatic actions, including jail.

The ACLU of of Washington and the Radical Left choose to enable addicts who continue to use. They’d rather hand out clean needles or crack pipes to criminal addicts than drug treatment or time in jail. It’s part of the failed harm reduction model that I cover extensively in my forthcoming book “What’s Killing America: Inside the Radical Left’s Tragic Destruction of Our Cities.”

All harm reduction does is keep the addict using until, inevitably, they suffer a fatal overdose. But the Radical Left argues they’re acting with compassion. The problem is their compassion kills people.

Better for society

You know what happens when that prolific criminal addict is in jail after refusing resources? At best, he or she gets treatment they need and then, usually, a family to connect with after their sentence. At worst, that person isn’t creating more victims on the streets of Marysville.

At some point, it’s okay to say we’ve done enough to try to help an addict and then focus on helping prevent future crimes. It’s not some moral failing if we try in good faith, over and over and over again some more, to help someone. If they keep saying no to offers of help, then so be it. We can take a tough-love approach and hope they get the help they need while incarcerated.

The ACLU of Washington may not care, but at some point, we should pay attention to the addict’s victims — the ones who are having their cars or homes broken into or the ones who are being assaulted on their way to work. They deserve advocates too. They won’t get it from the ACLU of Washington but they will get it from leaders in Marysville.

Listen to The Jason Rantz Show on weekday afternoons from 3:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m. on KTTH 770 AM (HD Radio 97.3 FM HD-Channel 3). He is the author of the book “What’s Killing America: Inside the Radical Left’s Tragic Destruction of Our Cities.” Subscribe to the podcast. Follow @JasonRantz on X, Instagram and Facebook. Check back frequently for more news and analysis.

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