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What is "the most violent city per capita in America"?

By Douglas A. Berman

Click here to find out.  The article linked provides these explanations for why the city wins this unfortunate honor: ?Our 30-year crime history is appalling,? said [local] Prosecutor Michael D. Thomas.... ?You can?t do more with less.?  Thomas identified reductions in police, more lenient state sentencing guidelines and a disproportionately low number of prosecutors in [this] County versus similar cities as key factors in [its] crime rate.... Law enforcement is key to protecting the public, Thomas said.  But even if the court system had the resources to fully prosecute all criminals, legislators still sometimes render impotent the system?s potential to enact justice. ?Our sentencing guidelines tie some of our judge?s hands behind their backs,? he said, removing the judge?s leeway in imposing a sentence and often resulting in shorter sentence benefiting the convict...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on January 03, 2010 (boomark / email).