Boise Needs to Lock Up the Violent Mentally Ill

They let the guy walk.  The accused Greenbelt killer in Boise has a decades-long criminal history, having spent time behind bars.  He was recently acquitted by a jury in Ada County after being accused of a violent assault.  What were jurors thinking?  The Idaho Statesman had the story.  I read it once at this link, then it vanished behind the paywall.  Maybe you’ll get one look.  Democrats are blaming cuts in mental health programs.  Republicans are blaming the permissive attitudes of Boise’s Democrats who are more concerned about the violent homeless than the innocent public.

The Worst Need to Be off the Streets

My view is a hybrid.  Put the mentally ill back inside institutional walls.  The rest of us aren’t required to be prey to make Lefty feel better about his virtue signaling.  Dangerous people used to be locked up, but the past half-century brought about a new paradigm.  It followed an expose by a young reporter named Geraldo Rivera.  He exposed cruelty inside mental hospitals.  Instead of cleaning up the mess, many institutions were closed.  It hasn’t worked.

This Destroys Economies

A friend of mine lives in a metropolitan area that’s similar in size to Boise.  Local government revived a dead area of the downtown by encouraging restaurants, bars, boutiques, and a museum to open in the section.  For almost 20 years, it boomed.  Then the homeless discovered it was a good place to panhandle, and what followed were often violent interactions.  Woke Democrats who ran the city didn’t want to offend extremists in their own party and did nothing.  A once vibrant part of town is now once more dead.

Boise’s national reputation is that of a safe and hip city.  It won’t last long if the violent are allowed to re-enact the Purge.