But worse is the constant violence of macho culture responsible for men thinking all the anger & violence is their right and so the foolish, foolish murderous & hotheaded men involved in the fight. Together Luis, his brother, and Luis’ cousin ended a life and ruined theirs. You didn’t say if Luis’ brother was convicted of the murder. A waste as you say, ntm the murdered man stabbed by Luis’ brother.
This was a really powerful story thank you for sharing. It touches on so many injustices in the criminal system too. Bail reform. Sentencing. Public defenders.
I am inspired by the man of integrity your brother is. Not taking anything away from Samuel at all, but I think quiet and noble must run in your family.
My experience with the criminal justice system is when I used to work in mental health. Our funds were progressively slashed and programs cut or whittled down. I saw clients who were chosen to be let go because they were doing well (because of our programs!) decompensate and spiral downward, some so badly they wound up committing crimes, some serious enough to be tried, convicted and sent to prison for years.
The injustice is that a highly funded system was used to try and convict people who did break the law and did pose a threat to society, when funding the correct system would have never necessitated using the incorrect one. The inequity is that these were vulnerable members of society who could not afford private psychiatric help or support.
As painful as this essay and the reality it reveals is, I'm grateful to you for sharing your experience in court, and giving the very harsh context of it. It was masterfully written.
And grateful for letting us have a glimpse of your brother and what a fine, fine human being he is. A little bit of hope, even in the face of inequity and not much justice, can go a very long way--the power of showing up with the truth of who you are, your skills, your talent, inner conviction and fierce compassion.
I needed this. My heart is uplifted.
Wishing the best for Luis and a successful defense. Thank you, David and Samuel. You make a difference.
I know very little about anything, but I wonder if bail reform is a ‘pendulum issue’ that hasn’t really found its resting point. I know the current state of bail reform in NYC is frustrating for the police and many of the citizens, but justice demands that we not keep innocent people incarcerated. It’s a tough call.
I wonder if the men had been sober whether any of this would have happened. I’m not arguing that people shouldn’t drink but this story reinforces how common it is in violent crimes for alcohol to exacerbate and increase conflict. It sounds like your brother is a brilliant attorney. Thanks for sharing about the inequities in our legal system. The wilding accusations that were leveled at those arrested way back- The Central Park Five, still haunts me.
I have often wondered what motivates lawyers to become (and stay) public defenders. It seems to me a conviction (so to speak) that every person accused of a crime deserves competent representation. What’s noble about Samuel and others like him is that it’s simpler-minded and more emotion-based to reduce the work to “well, half of these people are guilty, so they deserve whatever they get,” starting not at the point of sentencing but at the arrest and then all throughout the process. For Samuel to hold to the ideals/tenets and ethics of the profession in such a way where he believes every client deserves to be fought for really shows his integrity.
David, you already know I worked in the fields of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, and child abuse for 25 years. Two of those years were spent running the crime victims program out of Queens Criminal Court (for Safe Horizon, which your brother will know about). As much as the criminal justice system (including Family Court here) in most key ways fails to protect victims of these heinous crimes and hold the perpetrators accountable, I still believe in bail reform. It was an injustice that needed correcting. And they have had to tweak it in the case of DV victims (the first iteration basically let all DV perps go after arrest, a terrifying prospect for victims). It’s still not working great, mostly because judges have too much discretion that they shouldn’t have. I’ve known of a few cases up by me where judges released a DV perp with no bail even after a felony-level assault.
When I was in Queens, we started a program where we had a victim advocate sitting in arraignments. She would gather info on the outcomes for the DV perps and then immediately go and phone the victim to inform them of what happened in arraignments. This allowed many victims to know that an order of protection had been issued days earlier than they otherwise would have known. It also gave our victim advocate time to do what’s known as safety planning with victims before the perpetrators would be heading back to the residence, possibly fueled with more venom toward the victim because of the indignity of having been arrested and held (even if the victim wasn’t the one who called 911, they were still often blamed by the perpetrators for bringing unwanted attention to the situation by having screamed in fear). Bail reform in most cases took away this critical time we had to safety plan, since many perps know don’t have to be held for arraignment. It’s the absolute right thing to do, but it’s not without its problems.
David, You are a terrific writer, always so clear and incisive with your message. I marvel that your brother can carry these stories of pain. It’s terrible how long it takes to get a trial. And that’s just one of many losses here.
I was waiting for my chicken to cook (i bake it in a hot oven) and read your piece, which means that a long discussion ensued while eating it (delicious). It seems so outrageous that innocent (ie not proved guilty) people languish in jail, but the next question is what to do with them, as some are doubtless guilty and you don't want them committing more crimes. This led to whether we could live with ourselves if we were prosecutors knowing full well we were sending innocent people to jail. Our lunches are always full of chat (one of the great joys of a good marriage of minds), but I thought you would like to know that you were the spark (the word somehow suits) that lit that particular discussion.
Likely not guilty, in an absolute sense, of murder or manslaughter, yet almost certainly guilty of disorderly conduct, thus not truly innocent.
There is no justice for the murdered Fabian, and no justice possible to bring him back, tho he was also not innocent.
Realistic justice systems make both types of mistakes, wrongly punishing the innocent, and wrongly not punishing the guilty. Reducing one, increases the other. But when the guilty are not in jail, they often commit more crime. Everybody wants no mistakes, and few are honest about the tradeoffs, but very very few of those who want less punishment in the system are even willing to talk about how reducing punishment means increasing crime.
The reality of crime and prosecution leads many violent criminals to be charged with many crimes, including non violent possession of drugs, as George Floyd attempted to avoid by consuming large quantities before arrest, so they plead guilty to a non violent, lower punishment offense. Even the violent criminals. So the numbers of jailed “non violent” criminals is far less important to most poor, non violent folks than the number of violent crimes committed. Those who think there is too much crime mostly want more criminals in prison to reduce the number of victims.
The graph of who’s in prison is less important than the missing graph of who are victims of violent criminals. They are similar, the poor first quintile suffer far more crime.
No mention here of the fathers of the people involved. Uncle Sugar makes a lousy dad, even if there is enough money for food.
Brother Sam is doing important work. But most Americans think there’s too much crime, so the justice system is failing, or sub-optimal. Also, the culture is failing to encourage good behavior or discourage bad behavior, especially reducing bad behavior habits before they become criminal. Like in public schools which require teachers to allow disruptive behavior, unlike $60k private schools for kids.
To answer your question, I was a juror on a murder trial about 25 years ago in London and it was one of the most chilling experiences of my life. The person on trial admitted to killing a woman (a computer advisor at a university just out of Cambridge University, he was a research assistant and PhD student) because he wanted to kill himself and wanted to 'take her with him to the afterlife'. He successfully killed her but botched his own suicide.
What was so chilling is that he had what was then called 'schizoid personality disorder' which meant he seemed to be devoid of any emotions. To see someone like that is seriously disturbing. And he described how he distributed a set of questionnaires to a class at the university (as part of his PhD) and then went out to a local shop to buy a rolling pin with which to murder her. He was very bright and explained everything very logically, but there was never a moment when he said "I don't know what got into me" or "it was terrible" - just a description of all the events, including the murder as might have come from a machine.
Oddly, we the jury was supposed to decide if he was mentally ill (so he would go to a mental hospital) or not (so he would go to a prison). In the end, we decided he was mentally ill, but the judge overruled us, so the whole trial was a travesty.
Alameda County (Northern California) elected a district attorney who ran on reform. There has been a movement here to also reform the bail system. I voted for this DA and have faith in her, but since her election there has been a movement to recall her, only for the reason she ran on and was elected for, reforming the prosecutorial justice system.
Her predecessor refused to charge 3 police officers responsible for the death of a man in a park in Alameda, the town I live in. This took place in 2021, soon enough after the death and protests about George Floyd. In similar fashion, the 3 officers in my town turned this man onto his stomach, with knees on his back, for over six minutes, ignoring his cries that he could not breath. His name was Mario Gonzalez.
The town of Alameda paid the Gonzalez family $11,000,000 to avoid a civil law trial against the officers. The officers were placed on paid leave for a time, I am not sure for how long. Two of the officers went back to full duty with the Alameda Police Department, one left voluntarily. The Gonzalez family got money, but they didn’t get justice for the death of their son, brother, father.
On Thursday, April 18th, our DA announced the indictment of the three police officers. This is part of the promise she ran for district attorney on; she felt that the case was not investigated enough. She reopened the case when elected, but had an independent investigation unit find and investigate all of the evidence. That unit recommended a charge of manslaughter be brought.
Back to the recall story. I would not sign any of the petitions pushed at me outside of every store in Alameda for almost a year. Every time, I spoke up to the people gathering signatures because they are just paid to do this, they don’t have a clue about the subject. It didn’t matter and my comment didn’t change anything they were doing. But there were often people near us who agreed with me.
You may know that the district attorney for San Francisco was also recalled. He was also a reformer. His life has a bit of fame. His name is Chesa Boudin, whose parents were members of the Weather Underground and went to prison for murder when he was only 14 months old.
This recall movement of prosecutors who believe in criminal justice reform is not looking at the people unjustly sitting in jail because the can’t pay bail, or people unjustly prosecuted. It’s a movement preying on the public’s fear of crime and always seems to come up with stories of a released criminal committing heinous crimes.
I have gone into this lengthy story to point out criminal justice reform ALSO should include proper investigation of police actions, not paying off a victims family to silence them. I happen to live next door to one of these police officers. My personal feelings should not matter, but our district attorney, Pamela Price, restored my faith in the system. My neighbor should not be a police officer; there is not one iota of empathy in this man.
Everyone deserves a defense attorney like your brother. Every town/county/state deserves a prosecutorial system that investigates crime properly, not indicting a ham sandwich and not refusing to indict city employees just because of their jobs. No one should be above the law.
Brilliant! Sam & others like him are indeed heroes doing a tough thankless Job. Thank You for affording me the opportunity to witness this with you. My POV has been altered on the justice system from these live experiences. I enjoy being your court room bench pal. :-). Looking forward to the next one Sir.
We’re proud of Sam and the important duty which he performs so very well.
Hope for reform for the bail system, etc
But worse is the constant violence of macho culture responsible for men thinking all the anger & violence is their right and so the foolish, foolish murderous & hotheaded men involved in the fight. Together Luis, his brother, and Luis’ cousin ended a life and ruined theirs. You didn’t say if Luis’ brother was convicted of the murder. A waste as you say, ntm the murdered man stabbed by Luis’ brother.
This was a really powerful story thank you for sharing. It touches on so many injustices in the criminal system too. Bail reform. Sentencing. Public defenders.
I am inspired by the man of integrity your brother is. Not taking anything away from Samuel at all, but I think quiet and noble must run in your family.
My experience with the criminal justice system is when I used to work in mental health. Our funds were progressively slashed and programs cut or whittled down. I saw clients who were chosen to be let go because they were doing well (because of our programs!) decompensate and spiral downward, some so badly they wound up committing crimes, some serious enough to be tried, convicted and sent to prison for years.
The injustice is that a highly funded system was used to try and convict people who did break the law and did pose a threat to society, when funding the correct system would have never necessitated using the incorrect one. The inequity is that these were vulnerable members of society who could not afford private psychiatric help or support.
As painful as this essay and the reality it reveals is, I'm grateful to you for sharing your experience in court, and giving the very harsh context of it. It was masterfully written.
And grateful for letting us have a glimpse of your brother and what a fine, fine human being he is. A little bit of hope, even in the face of inequity and not much justice, can go a very long way--the power of showing up with the truth of who you are, your skills, your talent, inner conviction and fierce compassion.
I needed this. My heart is uplifted.
Wishing the best for Luis and a successful defense. Thank you, David and Samuel. You make a difference.
I know very little about anything, but I wonder if bail reform is a ‘pendulum issue’ that hasn’t really found its resting point. I know the current state of bail reform in NYC is frustrating for the police and many of the citizens, but justice demands that we not keep innocent people incarcerated. It’s a tough call.
Your brother sounds like a pretty amazing person, I’m glad we have him as a public defender.
I wonder if the men had been sober whether any of this would have happened. I’m not arguing that people shouldn’t drink but this story reinforces how common it is in violent crimes for alcohol to exacerbate and increase conflict. It sounds like your brother is a brilliant attorney. Thanks for sharing about the inequities in our legal system. The wilding accusations that were leveled at those arrested way back- The Central Park Five, still haunts me.
I have often wondered what motivates lawyers to become (and stay) public defenders. It seems to me a conviction (so to speak) that every person accused of a crime deserves competent representation. What’s noble about Samuel and others like him is that it’s simpler-minded and more emotion-based to reduce the work to “well, half of these people are guilty, so they deserve whatever they get,” starting not at the point of sentencing but at the arrest and then all throughout the process. For Samuel to hold to the ideals/tenets and ethics of the profession in such a way where he believes every client deserves to be fought for really shows his integrity.
David, you already know I worked in the fields of domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, and child abuse for 25 years. Two of those years were spent running the crime victims program out of Queens Criminal Court (for Safe Horizon, which your brother will know about). As much as the criminal justice system (including Family Court here) in most key ways fails to protect victims of these heinous crimes and hold the perpetrators accountable, I still believe in bail reform. It was an injustice that needed correcting. And they have had to tweak it in the case of DV victims (the first iteration basically let all DV perps go after arrest, a terrifying prospect for victims). It’s still not working great, mostly because judges have too much discretion that they shouldn’t have. I’ve known of a few cases up by me where judges released a DV perp with no bail even after a felony-level assault.
When I was in Queens, we started a program where we had a victim advocate sitting in arraignments. She would gather info on the outcomes for the DV perps and then immediately go and phone the victim to inform them of what happened in arraignments. This allowed many victims to know that an order of protection had been issued days earlier than they otherwise would have known. It also gave our victim advocate time to do what’s known as safety planning with victims before the perpetrators would be heading back to the residence, possibly fueled with more venom toward the victim because of the indignity of having been arrested and held (even if the victim wasn’t the one who called 911, they were still often blamed by the perpetrators for bringing unwanted attention to the situation by having screamed in fear). Bail reform in most cases took away this critical time we had to safety plan, since many perps know don’t have to be held for arraignment. It’s the absolute right thing to do, but it’s not without its problems.
David, You are a terrific writer, always so clear and incisive with your message. I marvel that your brother can carry these stories of pain. It’s terrible how long it takes to get a trial. And that’s just one of many losses here.
my experience? I swore to myself I'd do everything to keep as far away from the system as humanly possible.
(I was a victim, and it didn't reach courts either)
I was waiting for my chicken to cook (i bake it in a hot oven) and read your piece, which means that a long discussion ensued while eating it (delicious). It seems so outrageous that innocent (ie not proved guilty) people languish in jail, but the next question is what to do with them, as some are doubtless guilty and you don't want them committing more crimes. This led to whether we could live with ourselves if we were prosecutors knowing full well we were sending innocent people to jail. Our lunches are always full of chat (one of the great joys of a good marriage of minds), but I thought you would like to know that you were the spark (the word somehow suits) that lit that particular discussion.
Likely not guilty, in an absolute sense, of murder or manslaughter, yet almost certainly guilty of disorderly conduct, thus not truly innocent.
There is no justice for the murdered Fabian, and no justice possible to bring him back, tho he was also not innocent.
Realistic justice systems make both types of mistakes, wrongly punishing the innocent, and wrongly not punishing the guilty. Reducing one, increases the other. But when the guilty are not in jail, they often commit more crime. Everybody wants no mistakes, and few are honest about the tradeoffs, but very very few of those who want less punishment in the system are even willing to talk about how reducing punishment means increasing crime.
The reality of crime and prosecution leads many violent criminals to be charged with many crimes, including non violent possession of drugs, as George Floyd attempted to avoid by consuming large quantities before arrest, so they plead guilty to a non violent, lower punishment offense. Even the violent criminals. So the numbers of jailed “non violent” criminals is far less important to most poor, non violent folks than the number of violent crimes committed. Those who think there is too much crime mostly want more criminals in prison to reduce the number of victims.
The graph of who’s in prison is less important than the missing graph of who are victims of violent criminals. They are similar, the poor first quintile suffer far more crime.
No mention here of the fathers of the people involved. Uncle Sugar makes a lousy dad, even if there is enough money for food.
Brother Sam is doing important work. But most Americans think there’s too much crime, so the justice system is failing, or sub-optimal. Also, the culture is failing to encourage good behavior or discourage bad behavior, especially reducing bad behavior habits before they become criminal. Like in public schools which require teachers to allow disruptive behavior, unlike $60k private schools for kids.
Paul Newman did a great job, too.
To answer your question, I was a juror on a murder trial about 25 years ago in London and it was one of the most chilling experiences of my life. The person on trial admitted to killing a woman (a computer advisor at a university just out of Cambridge University, he was a research assistant and PhD student) because he wanted to kill himself and wanted to 'take her with him to the afterlife'. He successfully killed her but botched his own suicide.
What was so chilling is that he had what was then called 'schizoid personality disorder' which meant he seemed to be devoid of any emotions. To see someone like that is seriously disturbing. And he described how he distributed a set of questionnaires to a class at the university (as part of his PhD) and then went out to a local shop to buy a rolling pin with which to murder her. He was very bright and explained everything very logically, but there was never a moment when he said "I don't know what got into me" or "it was terrible" - just a description of all the events, including the murder as might have come from a machine.
Oddly, we the jury was supposed to decide if he was mentally ill (so he would go to a mental hospital) or not (so he would go to a prison). In the end, we decided he was mentally ill, but the judge overruled us, so the whole trial was a travesty.
I will never forget it.
Alameda County (Northern California) elected a district attorney who ran on reform. There has been a movement here to also reform the bail system. I voted for this DA and have faith in her, but since her election there has been a movement to recall her, only for the reason she ran on and was elected for, reforming the prosecutorial justice system.
Her predecessor refused to charge 3 police officers responsible for the death of a man in a park in Alameda, the town I live in. This took place in 2021, soon enough after the death and protests about George Floyd. In similar fashion, the 3 officers in my town turned this man onto his stomach, with knees on his back, for over six minutes, ignoring his cries that he could not breath. His name was Mario Gonzalez.
The town of Alameda paid the Gonzalez family $11,000,000 to avoid a civil law trial against the officers. The officers were placed on paid leave for a time, I am not sure for how long. Two of the officers went back to full duty with the Alameda Police Department, one left voluntarily. The Gonzalez family got money, but they didn’t get justice for the death of their son, brother, father.
On Thursday, April 18th, our DA announced the indictment of the three police officers. This is part of the promise she ran for district attorney on; she felt that the case was not investigated enough. She reopened the case when elected, but had an independent investigation unit find and investigate all of the evidence. That unit recommended a charge of manslaughter be brought.
Back to the recall story. I would not sign any of the petitions pushed at me outside of every store in Alameda for almost a year. Every time, I spoke up to the people gathering signatures because they are just paid to do this, they don’t have a clue about the subject. It didn’t matter and my comment didn’t change anything they were doing. But there were often people near us who agreed with me.
You may know that the district attorney for San Francisco was also recalled. He was also a reformer. His life has a bit of fame. His name is Chesa Boudin, whose parents were members of the Weather Underground and went to prison for murder when he was only 14 months old.
This recall movement of prosecutors who believe in criminal justice reform is not looking at the people unjustly sitting in jail because the can’t pay bail, or people unjustly prosecuted. It’s a movement preying on the public’s fear of crime and always seems to come up with stories of a released criminal committing heinous crimes.
I have gone into this lengthy story to point out criminal justice reform ALSO should include proper investigation of police actions, not paying off a victims family to silence them. I happen to live next door to one of these police officers. My personal feelings should not matter, but our district attorney, Pamela Price, restored my faith in the system. My neighbor should not be a police officer; there is not one iota of empathy in this man.
Everyone deserves a defense attorney like your brother. Every town/county/state deserves a prosecutorial system that investigates crime properly, not indicting a ham sandwich and not refusing to indict city employees just because of their jobs. No one should be above the law.
Powerful story and brilliant storytelling. Thank you for shining light on this in the in way you have. I so enjoy your writing and depth.
Brilliant! Sam & others like him are indeed heroes doing a tough thankless Job. Thank You for affording me the opportunity to witness this with you. My POV has been altered on the justice system from these live experiences. I enjoy being your court room bench pal. :-). Looking forward to the next one Sir.