Earlier this month, South Carolina lawmakers rejected the appointment of a circuit court judge DeAndrea Benjamin for a seat on the second highest court in the state of Palmetto, the SC appeals court. The legislative election was controversial, to say the least – with the previous drama eclipsed only by the drama that followed (here and here).
Although there was no shortage of political hay from this race, the real reason for Benjamin’s defeat seems obvious to us.
It was not because an influential conservative politician from the interior of the state influenced – or because Benjamin is married to a local über-liberal leader.
These factors certainly impacted the result, but they didn’t decide …
What? Benjamin’s track record of granting leniency to violent criminals – a subject this media has criticized in recent months (and others have criticized too). At the end of the day, Republicans were simply uncomfortable raising a judge with Benjamin’s track record … which is exactly the reason for another regional court judge Alison Lee, was insufficient in its bidding in the appeals court two years ago (Lee was also denied his seat on the federal bench for the same reason).
Critics claim that Benjamin and Lee – both black – were defeated because of their race. They also claimed that the suspects that these judges released – and others like them – were unfairly targeted by our judicial system because of their race.
This is pure politically correct nonsense …
“This has nothing to do with race and everything to do with justice,” we wrote recently when rebuking these criticisms.
In fact, these claims do a poor job of legitimate allegations of racial prejudice – while discounting victims’ rights and marginalizing valid public safety concerns.
“This media has long argued in the name of civil justice reform – and we have been advocating the decriminalization of drug offenses for years – but that does no it means that we must be soft with those who intend to deprive their fellow citizens of life, freedom and property ”, we noted in a post last fall.
Speaking of depriving citizens of property, between January 19 and February 6 this year there was a series of armed robberies against Hispanic residents in northeastern Columbia, SC, near Old Percival Road. There, two armed suspects allegedly “terrorized the Hispanic community” – perpetrating up to thirteen armed robberies in which the victims were deprived of money, cell phones and vehicles.
The suspects kept many of the victims at gunpoint and threatened to kill them. Several of the thefts were also home invasions, police said.
One of the two men arrested in connection with this wave of crimes is Charles Clippard of Columbia, SC According to officials in the Richland County sheriff’s department, Clippard and his alleged co-conspirator were both on bail at the time of the thefts.
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Should Clippard have gone out on bail? Let’s review the 24-year-old’s recent criminal record …
In May 2015, Clippard pleaded guilty to assault and beatings in the first degree and aimed and presented a firearm on the state’s fifth judicial circuit. Clippard had previously been charged with attempted murder, possession of a firearm during a violent crime, breach of peace and third-degree assault and assault in connection with this initial incident.
He received three years probation for his crimes.
In May 2018, Clippard pleaded guilty to firearm theft after he was originally charged with armed robbery, possession of a firearm during a violent crime and possession of a stolen pistol in connection with another theft. This time, he was sentenced to five years in prison, but received credit for a year behind bars, awaiting further charges.
A month later, Clippard pleaded guilty to third degree theft in connection with another incident. Once again, he received credit for time served with a suspended sentence. He had previously been charged with first-degree theft, major theft and malicious damage to real estate in connection with that incident.
(Click to view)
(Via: Richland County, SC)
Having received several system interruptions – including some that were undoubtedly undeserved – Clippard (above) learn your lesson?
No …
In December 2019, he was charged with first-degree domestic violence, possession of a firearm during a violent crime, possession of theft tools and possession of a stolen pistol in connection with yet another violent incident.
By the way, these charges against Clippard are still pending …
Inexplicably, on September 3, 2020, judge of the circuit court of SC Robert Hood decided on a motion by Clippard’s lawyer to reconsider his bail in this latest batch of charges – which was initially denied.
Hood accepted the motion to reconsider and define Clippard’s link in $ 50,000. A little over a month later, on October 8, 2020, that title was posted by the aptly named “Bad Boyz Bail Bonds”.
To your credit, the Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott he did not measure words about the titles granted to Clippard and his supposed co-conspirator.
“They are dismissed,” Lott said at a news conference this week. “And what we see is what we have now – three weeks of terror in the Hispanic community in northeastern Colombia.”
In fact …
Frankly, we cannot believe that we have to continue to address this problem – which is as simple as possible. Or should be as uncomplicated as possible. Simply put, if you have received multiple second chances from our criminal justice system and still continue to commit violent crimes – you are denied the bond. Time course.
Unfortunately, the government judiciary under the presidency of SC Donald Beatty made it very clear that perceptions of “social justice” matter more than the application of real justice – which is one of the reasons why we end up with criminals like Clippard wandering the streets.
Does it matter that Clippard is black? Or that he and his co-conspirator were accused of targeting Hispanics during their most recent alleged crime spree? No … not at all (although it is telling that we have not heard a peep from the crowd of “hate crimes” about this particular situation).
What matters is that Clippard is violent … and has proven to be a danger to people of all races.
Obviously, we don’t expect judges to get it right every time. In certain situations, we understand how violent offenders for the first time can – and possibly should – receive some indulgence based on mitigating factors.
But there is an old expression that when people show who they really are, you should believe them … And Clippard showed us who he really is. Repeatedly.
-FITSNews
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