Friday, September 12, 2014

A Question For NJ Prosecutor Jim McClain


Atlantic County, NJ Prosecutor Jim McClain broke his silence on the Ray Rice assault case Wednesday. According to the Press of Atlantic City, McClain said:
“Even if they disagree with why I did what I did, I just want people to know the decision was made after careful consideration of the law, careful consideration of the facts, hearing the voice of the victim and considering all the parameters,” he said. “I want people to have confidence in this agency, even if they don’t agree with everything we do.”

Rice was charged with third-degree aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury. Third-degree charges — especially for someone like Rice with no criminal record — carry a presumption of no incarceration.

To result in a second-degree aggravated assault charge, a crime has to involve “serious,” or permanent, bodily injury. There is no first-degree charge of aggravated assault.

“People need to understand, the choice was not PTI versus five years’ state prison,” McClain said. “The choice was not PTI versus the No Early Release Act on a 10-year sentence. The parameters as they existed were: Is this a PTI case or a probation case?
 Confidence in this agency? Is Mr. McClain making a joke?

Let me see if I have this straight. An NFL player with a multi-million dollar contract punches his wife-to-be in the head so severely that she is knocked unconscious. Reading some of the boxing literature on knockouts, the force of the punch causes the brain "to smash against the inside of the skull, near the base of the skull" from inertia. Being knocked out may also involve a concussion and other brain injuries. 

The Association of Boxing Commissions consider this such a severe injury that boxers are given a minimum 60-day medical suspension from all boxing activity when KO'ed. Remember these are trained athletes who are engaging in a sport that involves hits to the head and body and not a young mother.

So my question for Atlantic County Prosecutor Jim McClain is this:  please explain how Shaneen Allen, a young mother with an unblemished criminal record and certainly no record of violence, who made an honest mistake due to a misunderstanding of the law and which hurt no one, is more of a menace to society than a  coddled star athlete with anger management issues who inflicted serious bodily injury on a woman.  The latter was given pre-trial intervention while the former is facing up to 10 years in prison even though she, as well, could have been given pre-trial intervention save for your intransigence.

To paraphrase Shakespeare, something is rotten in the state of New Jersey.

And lest readers think that Gov. Chris Christie is blameless in this whole affair, it was Christie himself who appointed McClain to be the County Prosecutor two years ago. Christie was criticized at the time over the quality of some of his prosecutorial nominations including McClain. We can see the basis for that criticism now all too well.

5 comments:

  1. Janay Parker
    Shaneen Allen

    Maybe Prosecutor Jim McClain just hates Black Women?

    ReplyDelete
  2. John,

    Spot on, brother. You nailed it.

    We need national reciprocity and a new Firearms Owners Protection Act that prevents this kind of civil rights violation by NJ, CA, MD, NY,..

    If the Senate goes GOP, tell Rand Paul we don't want Obama to pull out his veto pen for bills that "differentiate". We want amendments to Obama bills that he cannot veto. We do not want to be divisive fodder for 2016. We want our relief NOW!

    Amendments. Not bills.

    REPEAT AFTER ME: AMENDMENTS.

    ReplyDelete
  3. If there are ever ANY circumstances where a clear violation of a law should not be prosecuted, then that law should be struck from the books.

    It is ever "in the interest of justice" (or some other weasel-worded excuse) to not prosecute, then the law should be similarly struck.

    The challenge for the prosecutor now seems to be finding a way to back down without invalidating the law with an undesirable (to him) precedent.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I am not posting “out there” theories or claims…..this is the result of a Harvard study which has been conveniently covered up by the pc & special interests groups of which it appears the controllers of this site are part of…..If not, prove me wrong and let my post remain (what are you afraid of???…the truth??):

    http://newscastmedia.com/domestic-violence.htm

    ReplyDelete