Seattle Bill Could Legalize Crime For Those In Poverty Or With Behavioral Issues zerohedge.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from zerohedge.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Luke Kenton, Daily Mail, December 13, 2020
Seattle City Council is considering a new criminal code regulation that would see it become the first municipality in the US to excuse misdemeanor crimes if they can be linked to poverty, addiction, or mental health disorders.
The concept, known as the poverty defense, was discussed Tuesday by the Seattle City Council’s Public Safety Committee after it was introduced by Councilmember Lisa Herbold and Anita Khandelwal, the King County’s director of the Department of Public Defense.
Under the defense, an accused suspect could possibly be absolved of a crime – such as theft, assault, or trespassing – if they committed the offense to meet a basic need to survive.
Matthew Humphrey recently lost $4,000 worth of goods in a theft of his Seattle barbershop. Under a new proposal the Seattle City Council is considering this month, what happened to him wouldn’t even be a crime if the thieves claimed they were driven by poverty, that is.
“I think it’s insane,” the victimized barber told a local news outlet. “It’s one of these well-intended concepts (of) we want to take care of people that can t take care of themselves. But what you are really doing is hurting other people.
Up for debate is a reform proposed by Seattle City Councilmember Lisa Herbold. For up to 100 different misdemeanor crimes, including theft, harassment, shoplifting, trespassing, and more, an individual could be excused if he or she claims poverty was their motive.
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SEATTLE A Seattle City Councilwoman called the police to her home Friday to report a crime she is effectively trying to decriminalize, according to media reports.
Lisa Herbold phoned authorities on Friday after a man reportedly threw a rock through her living room window, My Northwest reported. The councilwoman said “she was on the west side of the living room near the kitchen when she heard a loud noise that sounded like a gunshot and dove into the kitchen for cover,” according to a redacted police report obtained by the publication.
A neighbor told police that a person who is “unathletic and a bad runner” was seen leaving the area.