Attack on lawmaker result of revolving door justice system

Rep. Angie Craig, (D-Minn.) is living through an ordeal familiar to many crime victims in America.

Craig described to reporters that she spotted a man in the lobby of her Capitol Hill apartment building early one morning last week. He then allegedly followed Craig into the elevator and demanded she let him in her apartment.

According to police reports, the man punched Craig in the face and grabbed her by the shoulder and collarbone. She threw her coffee at him, and ran when the elevator stopped.

This is every woman’s nightmare: a moment alone in a place where you should feel safe, only to become prey to an assailant.

It gets worse. The suspect, identified as Kendrick Khalil Hamlin, had 12 prior arrests and convictions, Craig said.

According to court documents, Hamlin, 27, was convicted in December on charges stemming from assaulting a police officer and committing lewd, indecent or obscene acts.

“I got attacked by someone who the District of Columbia has not prosecuted fully over the course of almost a decade, over the course of 12 assaults before mine that morning,” Craig told CBS News.

How many times have victims of violent crimes and their loved ones sat and cried in courtrooms as their assailants were given minimum sentences, or lived in fear after their release?

“If you throw somebody in jail for 10 days and think, ‘There’s your punishment, and we’re gonna let you right back on the street,’ what the hell do you think’s gonna happen?” Craig said.

Conservatives have been banging that drum for years, drowned out by liberal voices calling for decarceration and an end to mandatory minimum sentences. For progressives especially, the last place a criminal belongs is in jail.

Yet that’s how someone goes from committing one assault to racking up 13, or being designated an Armed Career Criminal, Level III.

While Craig called out D.C. for letting Hamlin out on the streets, this problem is nationwide. Criminals are too often treated as victims, and the concerns of actual crime victims dismissed.

Craig, however, has an advantage that most crime victims don’t: she’s a Congresswoman, up close and personal with lawmakers who can change the way repeat offenders are sentenced.

“We have to get these repeat offenders off the streets. We also have got to figure out how we get people the mental health and addiction help that they need because these people are getting back out and just recommitting the same crimes over and over and over again,” Craig said.

She’s off to a good start. As the New York Post reported, hours after the assault on Craig, the GOP-led House voted 250-173 to overturn a revamping of DC’s criminal code, which lowered the maximum penalties for burglary, carjacking and robbery. Craig joined 31 Democrats in voting for the measure

“We have to think about how in the world can we make sure that we’re not just letting criminals out,” said Craig.

Agreed — now spread the word among your fellow Democrats on the Hill.