Terry Shamie's Picture Says: "Kiss my judge robes mainstream media"
In his standard fashion, Terry "Bulletproof" Shamsie shook off attacks by the mainstream media recently about his job on the bench. Court insiders say that Shamsie has shaken up a system that was allegedly accustomed to having its way with the bench including CPS and the County Attorney's office. Shamsie has paved his own way for many years and has been both a County Attorney and a defense attorney. Lawyers who El Defenzor asked indicate that Shamsie is fair on the bench and middle of the road on nonviolent crime but harder on violent crime and is fiscally responsible rather than throwing away money on three hots and a cot for every juvenile who everyone cries to lock up even though nonviolent.. In a calculated effort by certain factions who wish Shamsie off the bench, the media was manipulated into attacking him. They were also miffed by the JUdge reportedly asking them not to film to protect the privacy of 13 and 14 year old detainees.
El Defenzor has monitored the issue of tagging or graffitti and has seen one extreme to the other in the criminal justice system. Prosecutors such as James Sales have asked for hard felonies and harder time while Judge Shamsie has been criticized for not locking up enought taggers. In El Defenzor's opinion far too many people have criminalized teenagers and although strict discipline is needed for our youth, more bars and cells are not the answer. America already houses and feeds more people behind bars than anyone else in the world. What a generation ago would have been handled with detention and corporal punishment is now being handled by incarcerating our youth. What do these children learn but that they are only worth being in jumpsuits and being shackled?. Although El Defenzor has blasted Judge Shamsie in the past, on this issue we stand united: You cannot simply lock up juveniles or rip children away from their home environment because a parent tests positive for marijuana.
Although it feels surreal and "Twilightzonish" El Defenzor agrees that Shamsie is doing a good job on the bench and not succumbing to the whim of the public or the fickle mainstream media. We commend Judge Shamsie for his work with the youth and for trying to be compassionate yet firm and not build more bars and more prisons. El Defenzor also wishes to note that tagging or graffitti is a very serious crime, but aren't there socially better ways, such as restitution, peer censorship and fines against the parent that are better than giving a 17 year old boy a 25 year sentence for spraypaint? What does that say when society gives a 10 year deferred sentence of probation to a sex offender but throwns away a young person's youth for spraypaint?
For now, El Defenzor is behind Judge Shamsie, not for coddling criminals which he is reportedly not dolng, but by not listening to the mob or rabble that demand each child's head and by taken into consideration but not blindly following the machine known as CPS or the County Attorney's office.
For once, El Defenzor gives Shamsie a gold star for not caving in to the media. If a judge isn't sentencing everyone to death or sucking away there youth, apparently no one is happy. What does that say about us as parents, teachers, and plain old adults?
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