Frank Zappa once said that America is a nation of laws, badly written and randomly enforced.
Of course, since we have fifty states within this nation, we have different laws.
Nonetheless, I can't help but connect the story of Jaia Cruz in New York to that of Earley Romero Blevins in Minnesota.
You see, Blevins is currently serving a seven year prison sentence for pulling a blade on someone. Cruz is facing murder charges for stabbing a guy to death; but, what's more relevant is that Cruz had a history of pulling blades on people before the stabbing.
There are a few important differences. Not the least important is that the judge who found Blevins guilty (it was a bench trial, not a jury trial) agreed that Blevins acted in self-defense. The problem was that Minnesota law requires you to run away before even displaying a weapon. So, since Blevins failed to show that he exhausted every retreat option, he was found guilty of assault with a dangerous weapon.
By contrast, Cruz committed two assaults, including a robbery, with knives. Cruz also resisted arrest during one of the altercations. Cruz never seems to have claimed self-defense. So, Cruz committed assault with a deadly weapon, plus a robbery, and did it more than once. Seemingly, Cruz was never even held on misdemeanor.
On that note, if Cruz were treated like Blevins, Cruz would be in prison right now, the murder wouldn't have happened, Ray Hodges would still be alive, and Cruz would have a future outside of prison. But, New York has bail reform, which means that Cruz barely even spent a matter of hours in a jail cell.
The consistent factor is that Minnesota and New York are willfully enslaved by the Democratic party.
The only thing that the Democratic party is consistent about regarding criminal justice is being inconsistent.