Milwaukee Newspaper Critical of Deferred Prosecution
In a report released just this week, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is critical of what they see as a “major initiative” by the District Attorney, allowing people to avoid jail time in exchange for probation. According to their report, deferred prosecution “allows hundreds of defendants each year to walk away from criminal charges with little or no consequences in exchange for getting treatment and staying out of trouble.”
Deferred prosecution refers to a program created to keep people out of prison. If the District Attorney agrees that prison isn’t necessarily appropriate, someone facing criminal charges can serve probation. Once this probation is successfully completed, the original charges are dismissed.
Just who is eligible for deferred prosecution? Who gets deferred prosecution is ultimately up to the DA’s office, though they consider things like criminal history and current charges in their decision making process. The goal is to save prison for those most in need of such stringent criminal penalties while allowing those who pose little or no risk to the community a chance to “right a wrong” from outside the prison walls.
But, the Journal Sentinel states the deferred prosecution program is too liberal—allowing people who they see as highly dangerous or unworthy to walk free. They name several examples including one man who received deferred prosecution after molesting a 2 year old child. While that example is without a doubt extreme, one must look at the overall picture.
The news organization only analyzed statistics from 2007 to 2009 and found “dozens” that raised questions. Considering how many cases the DA processes in a single year, dozens over the period of two years is hardly remarkable.
The paper points to several cases where the defendant in question had several previous convictions that should have possibly kept them from being eligible. However, they didn’t address how prison time is supposed to help a drug addict stay clean. The DA office obviously felt the defendants like this could potentially benefit from drug court treatment options more than being locked up without any programming options in an overcrowded system.
In response to the paper’s report, the District Attorney states “What you’ve identified is an extremely small number of cases in the overall context of the cases we’re dealing with.” He goes on to point out that the deferred prosecutions are both a benefit to the taxpayers and effective at reducing recidivism rates.
Is the process fool proof? No. There will always be people who are not successful on it. However, deferred prosecution is a crucial and effective alternative to the mass incarcerations that have done little but increase costs and create a country of ex-inmates.
When you are facing criminal charges, it can be difficult to understand all of the options available in your case. From drug courts to deferred prosecution, there are options. Contact our offices today to discuss the charges against you and how we can help.
