Matt Tully trashes Melina Kennedy's "amnesty" plan:
In a race where both candidates are obsessed with being seen as "tough," Brizzi couldn't have asked for more.
"These are not the types of criminals we need to give second and third chances to," he said with typical showmanship. "What we want to do is make Indianapolis as inhospitable as possible for these guys."
The problem for Kennedy is Brizzi has effectively bashed her lack of prosecutorial experience for weeks. Her proposing "a get-out-of-jail-free card," as Brizzi called it, gave him another chance to point to that issue.
"Only someone who has never prosecuted a gang member would propose something like this," he said.
In a race this big, each candidate will have bad days. Brizzi's had a few. Monday was Kennedy's turn.
Her response was weak. She defended her gang proposal but tried to downplay it by insisting it was only a "concept." She said the "concept" was aimed at "taking down the whole gang infrastructure by trying to peel away the young wannabes" and getting them to "testify against the gang leaders."
She wouldn't say what level of crimes would be forgiven but pointed to offenses such as carrying a handgun illegally.
Reality check. How many gang "wannabes" will take the stand and testify against gang leaders in exchange for dropping a minor charge?
Even using the word "amnesty" seems to me foolish, considering the millions that Republicans are spending attacking Democrats on immigration. Carl Brizzi ably seized on the issue today, generating some press and sending out this e-mail:
Having gang members write on the blackboard "I will not be a gang member" is not an effective way to deal with our city's growing gang problem. We need real leadership that won't hand out free passes to gun-toting gang members. Carl Brizzi was the Chief of Gang Prosecution under Scott Newman and last year helped pass a new law that doubles the jail time for gang members convicted of certain crimes.
