I wrote about Gregory Floyd back when I first started this blog. He was found not guilty in the death of a man named Liko Kenney and was declared a hero because Kenney had shot and killed a state trooper. In the years after that incident he has had some anger management issues, shall we say, that resulted in him being arrested on charges of threatening his neighbor on a road when she was trying to pass. (Here's a link to all the posts that I did on this)
Well, Floyd is about to be let free 9 months early. Because of a law that was passed recently called SB500.
What is SB500? Well, in an effort to curb overcrowding in prisons and hopefully make a better transition into the "real world," the law states that any criminal, regardless of the crime they were convicted for, will be released 9 months early into a halfway house before being released into society. If they violate their probation, the maximum sentence they could serve back in prison is 90 days.
The promise is that it would only release nonviolent offenders. Problem is that it only takes into account the more recent charge and doesn't consider the entire criminal record when determining this. If a violent offender in the past is now in jail because he stole candy from a baby, for an absurd example, then he can be let out.
Which is why I'm now puzzled by why Floyd was allowed to be released. He threatened people, including a state trooper in the courtroom when he was on trial. He might not have done anything, but doesn't that preclude the idea that he's a violent offender? Or does he actually have to hurt someone in order to be considered violent?
The neighbor in question has a restraining order against him, but is still afraid he'll do something to her because of this. I really hope that nothing does, because I would want him serving more than 90 days if it were to happen.
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