Lawyer work stoppage doesn’t get the job done

Public defenders in Massachusetts went on strike many weeks ago because they want a pay raise. The state responded with a $20 raise over two years but most of the defenders said no thanks. They currently make $65 an hour. They’d probably come back if the bump was $40, but nobody’s budging.

But their campaign to put pressure on the state by highlighting the dangers of releasing criminals from jail because they don’t have lawyers is a loser. It might work in other states; it won’t work here.

Massachusetts has a horrendous reputation as the most criminal-loving anti-prosecution, anti-incarceration state in the nation.

Prosecutors who push for tough punishments are accused of fascism and run out of town. The few district attorneys who believe punishment is an effective deterrent are all facing opposition candidates next year; candidates who plan to run on the idea that prosecutors should deemphasize prison and focus on restorative justice instead.

This state is so bad, it has closed prisons.

Even criminals with twelve-page records for serious crimes never spend a day behind bars. When criminals do go to prison, like drug dealers doing mandatory sentences, they describe their time behind bars as vacation – just part of the job.

Social media is filled with videos of people boldly walking into stores like Target and Walmart, filling bags with merchandise, and walking out the door without paying. If someone tries to stop them, they don’t hang their heads in shame for getting caught, they tell them to back off, and insist they have a right to take what they want because nobody will prosecute them.

Mayor Wu has done nothing about rampant crime at Mass and Cass. She even hinted at a plan to decriminalize drug dealing – not drug possession – drug dealing.

By far the worst example of leniency is that men with a long history of abusing women routinely walk out of court the day they get arraigned. They know they can hurt women with impunity, so they keep doing it. When women end up dead, politicians act like they don’t understand the correlation between leniency and the high risk of femicide. The number one violent crime in all cities and towns and in all district courts across Massachusetts is domestic abuse. It’s the least prosecuted, too, which is  why it’s so prevalent.

Despite all this, public defenders are using public safety as a theme in their PR campaign for better pay. They prop up stories about battered women fearing for their lives if an abuser is released, but the reality is, women expect abusers to be released, whether they have a lawyer or not, so the threat of releasing them is meaningless.

In fact, threatening to release any criminal will never ring the alarm because this state has spent a lot of resources persuading the public that jail is bad for humanity, and criminals need support not incarceration. There’s even a huge “decarceration” movement in this state, which is a belief system that discourages incarceration.

Proponents insist that prison harms criminals and makes things worse for society, so other options should be considered. This may make sense for some offenders, but studies overwhelmingly show that not locking up men who abuse women increases that women will be raped, beaten, and killed. In other words, locking up abusive men protects women and saves lives, but good luck getting anyone in Massachusetts to listen to the data. They just want criminals on the streets, public safety be damned.

With a soft-on-crime philosophy teeming throughout the criminal justice system, there’s zero chance a fear campaign will work to help public defenders get the extra pay they deserve.

But here’s some unsolicited advice about a better campaign that might get them what they need: Promise to stop talking about decarceration and restorative justice. Promise to help improve public safety by supporting prison sentences for abusers who target women. Promise to differentiate between dangerous criminals and the people who deserve a break, and only ask for leniency when it’s deserved.

Start talking about the victims, especially in rape and domestic abuse cases, and instead of threatening a victim not to testify, tell victims you respect their right to be heard and will treat them with dignity when they take the stand.

Say these things out loud and you’ll get your pay raise. I promise.