Sheriff Don Barnes, Orange County, Calif., reacts to judge’s order reducing prison population amid coronavirus pandemic.
Fox Newscaster (at 3:40): “We don’t want anyone to get COVID, but we don’t want anyone murdered or molested”.
Sheriff: “I have no intention of releasing them.”
She was quick to bring up RSOs.
Bet he’s a thousand times more worried about his budget than he ever will be about community safety.
Actually yes they do want offenders to offend since without crime there is no need for punishment. The reality is most of these “molesters” are usually just people with one-off situations or people with low-level offenses. If they’re going to single-out just these types of offenses to stay in prison and try to say it’s all about “protecting the community” then I hope that more robberies and murders start happening that don’t get similar scrutiny.
Sherrifs and district attorneys already figured out that rsos are easy prey.
O.C. releases thousands of dangerous people every day onto the streets. It’s called shift change at the police department!
Hmm, a sheriff takes an oath of office to support and defend the Constitution, then refuses to take action on a lawful order from a judge. In my opinion, he is no longer acting in his official capacity and should be treated as a private citizen who is in contempt.
It blows my mind that the very ones who expect 100% compliance from private citizens when they are the ones giving orders (under threat of having one’s life taken) have such a problem with complying with orders given to them. Sounds like they have grown too accustomed to the power they have been wielding.
Yet another sworn law enforcement officer explicitly and deliberately refusing to enforce the law in violation of their oath while collecting a paycheck
Impeach/recall and prosecute for criminal fraud please
Eventually most of these people are released into the public when their sentence is completed. When the sentence has been completed have they suddenly become less dangerous than they would be if released earlier? Perhaps sometimes (because of some of the prison rehab services) but when this isn’t the case, based on this Sheriff’s logic, nobody should ever be released regardless of the sentence imposed because they are still always dangerous to society. Per his logic therefore he should he should be able to unilaterally impose a life sentence on all types offenders if he alone thinks they are still dangerous. This sheriff should be immediately removed from his position.
Law enforcement has no sense of shame, guilt, or truth. Their target audience is always the easily led and gullible pearl clutchers.
The only thing getting getting murdered is the truth while the facts get molested.
This is the kind of thing that makes me think the constitution needs to be altered so courts have enforcement power of their own independently of the counties. Otherwise there’s really no way I can imagine to keep a frankly, renegade sheriff in line.
I may be missing something but the majority of jail inmates are they not mostly there awaiting trial?
If that is the case would not a good number be “Innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt”?
The sheriff is in contempt of court and they need to file contempt charges against him.
If anyone is affected by his actions come down with COVID, a lawsuit is in order.
Not all people in jail qualify for early release especially when its crimes involving children those type of criminals need to do their full sentence
Im not surprised the Orange county sheriff’s department is Notorious for harassing sex offenders especially the DA’s office .
if you live in orange county or riverside county be careful those 2 county’s have the biggest sex offender taskforces and many resources to track your everyday behavior like sleeping at your girlfriend’s house 2 or 3 times in one week and because you stop by 3 or 4 times in one week that’s now a frequent place that you dwell and just like that ur back in prison.
I really have no idea where some of the commenter’s heads are at. These are people accused of VERY BAD crimes, the vast majority of which were crimes against persons from molestation to assault with a deadly weapon to murder.
If the judge wants these people out he should review each case individually and take personal responsibility to order them released singularly on a case-by-case basis.
And if you are one of the commenters that thinks that the sheriff should just follow the order and say , “Be free little birds”, how would YOU like to take the personal responsibility responsibility for what one of these guys might do if you let him out?
As far as I’m concerned the harm that these individuals might do to some innocent person in society far outweighs the potential harm that might be done to them by covid-19 if they stay in the jail.
And I really doubt the sheriff is showing indifference to the inmates related to covid-19, because not only is the jail full of inmates there’s also a substantial number of his deputies working there. So it’s in the interest of the sheriff and the deputies to get as much of a handle as they possibly can on the covid-19 in the jail system.
How does the sheriff know if someone is dangerous without evidence? Does he shake a magic 8 ball or smoke one? He should be thrown out of office and in jail for violating his oath.
At a minimum, refusing to comply with a court order is contempt of court… Unless an appeal is in process.
Time for prosecution and maybe some time in their own lockup?
The REAL art of the deal: how Kalifornia keeps taking ten steps back for every step forward they “appear” to make.
So the sheriff basically just wants to score points against the courts. RSOs are always easy points to score with the public, and defending them in any way is always viewed as being “soft on crime”. Meaning you’re done, you’re wholey guilty and frankly irredeemable. Even if falsely accused and innocent.
First inmate in OC jail died of covid today.
The problem I see is that sheriffs are elected, and elected officials are beholden to those who put them in office. They need to appeal to the braying masses, and the braying masses still want registrants and those even accused of sex offenses (guilty until proven innocent, the American way) to suffer in any and every way imaginable.
This sheriff’s contempt for the law is more dangerous to society than 1,800 inmates.
I wonder if Janice can file a contempt motion in this case.
Nervous ~ Registration is actually pretty easy and since it is at the local sheriff’s department, I always go with him. It is a public place, so I don’t see how they could not let you go. With Covid, most registration is done remotely, via phone, so if that is the case, you could be on speaker with him. It is about 4-5 pages he has to fill out, including name, address, etc. If he only has to report to probation once a month, that is good. My fiancé had to go every week. Will your dad also need to go to sex offender therapy? If so, choose a good provider. If he can decide himself, I can give you a good recommendation. A therapist who will not make him say that he is a bad person. We were never told he had to wear an ankle monitor at sentencing, but when he had his first probation appointment, they told him he had to put it on. I think, we could have fought it since it was not in the court order, but it happened too fast. Is your dad’s “offense” a misdemeanor? He can get it expunged as soon as probation is over, and if he applies for early termination, they can do an expungement at the same time. Check with recordgone. They specilalize in both early termination and expungement at the same time. While on probation, he will most likely get a few visits, but with Covid, he might not at all. He has to let them in while on paper. My fiancé was sentenced to 9 month at half time and 3 years probation. I will have to look up the year since it is now a blur. Let me know what other questions you have.
Nervous ~ One more thing. He was sentenced in 2014, and before the Tiered Registry, he would have been eligible to file for a COR (Certificate of Rehabilitation) in 2021 since Indecent Exposure only required a 7 year wait. Most other sex offenses were 10 years. Now, with the Tiered Registry, and him being a Tier 1 most likely, he has to wait until 2024 to “petition” to get removed. The “petition” part is what makes me angry as it will be up to the judge to grant the petition. It should be automatic after the time elapsed.
Nervous ~ He did a little over 4 months in county jail. This was 50% of the 9 months. I was not really allowed inside the Probation office, but I often walked with him into the building and sat outside the office. This way, the PO saw me when he came out to get him. They will most likely put him against the wall to search for weapons, sometimes they will do a drug test. All meetings never lasted more than about 15 minutes. I don’t remember what they talk about. At first, they are very strict, but the more the PO sees that the probationer is following the rules, they usually ease up a bit. Always be polite, dress nicely (not overboard), and treat them with respect. Basically do anything they ask (it’s hard sometimes) but it will pay off in the end. They will test him to see if he is combative. He really has to make sure to always be polite, even if you want to scream at them for some of the ridiculous things they will do or say. Be on time, always. I went into the actual office twice or three times. When I asked to be a “chaperone”, I had to sign a paper, when they released him from probation (since I said I had questions), and one other time, I think. I believe I made a good impression, and I even called his PO a few times with questions. They always were nice to me and tried to accommodate me. So, your dad is out on bail now? Make sure he brings a little cash with him when being sentenced. Be won’t have access to funds in the beginning, unless you already put money on his books? Let me know how else I can help.
Nervous ~ Just curious how it went today.