Friday, February 18, 2022
Jewish Louisville mayor candidate ‘traumatized’ as shooting suspect released
A Louisville mayoral candidate said Thursday that he was "traumatized" by the news that the man charged with drawing a gun and firing at him earlier this week had been placed on home incarceration.
Quintez Brown, 21, was arrested and charged with attempted murder shortly after Monday's shooting in Louisville. The Democratic candidate, Craig Greenberg, was not hit by the gunfire but said a bullet grazed his sweater.
"Our criminal justice system is clearly broken. It is nearly impossible to believe that someone can attempt murder on Monday and walk out of jail on Wednesday," Greenberg said in a statement. "If someone is struggling with a mental illness and is in custody, they should be evaluated and treated in custody. We must work together to fix this system."
A group called the Louisville Community Bail Fund paid the $100,000 cash bond on Wednesday afternoon. Under the terms of home incarceration, Brown has been fitted with a GPS ankle monitor and is confined to his home.
Brown, a social justice activist running as an independent for Louisville's metro council, has been charged with attempted murder and four counts of wanton endangerment.
A judge has ordered Brown to have no contact with Greenberg or his campaign staff and said Brown cannot possess firearms. Brown's lawyer said the man has "serious mental issues" and said he would undergo a psychiatric evaluation.
Chanelle Helm, an organizer with the Louisville Community Bail Fund and member of Black Lives Matter Louisville, said the organization was worried he wouldn't get the support he needed in jail.
"They do not have the resources to get mental health resources to people. We do that, we set them up with folks in our communities," Helm explained.
Bail fund donors who disagree with the group's choice to post Brown's bond, Helm added, should learn more about "why we create bail funds in the first place."
"Not everybody that's in jail and prison are going to be nonviolent offenders with easy cases or cases that are low bail. We bail out folks because we can provide the resources and support that they need to get those cases handled," she said.
Jefferson County Attorney Mike O'Connell, the initial prosecutor on the case, called Brown's release "frustrating." O'Connell said in a prepared statement that state law calls for bond to be set in cases like Brown's. He said prosecutors argued for and received a higher bond for Brown, an increase from $75,000 to $100,000 cash, and also requested home incarceration if Brown was released.
"However, the criteria of release should not be the ability to access a certain amount of money," O'Connell said. "It should be the threat to the community and whether there is a history of non-appearance in court."
O'Connell said his office has "kept the victim involved throughout the process."
Sean Delahanty, a former Louisville criminal judge for two decades, said he felt the $100,000 cash bond for Brown was "substantial."
Comments:
Post a Comment
