This article was provided exclusively to the New York Analysis of Policy and Government by the distinguished jurist, John H. Wilson, (ret.)
There are certain times when a criminal act inspires our compassion, and not our outrage. For instance, when I was still a young Assistant District Attorney in Bronx County, New York in the late 1980s, I was assigned to prosecute the first appearance, or arraignment, of two men who had stolen food from a “Meals on Wheels” van. Both were charged with felony theft.
The evidence, however, showed that both men had sat down after the theft and ate the food they stole.
Although I was only to conduct the arraignment, on my own authority, I reduced the felony charge against one of the two, who, through his lawyer, had expressed a willingness to plead guilty to a misdemeanor in exchange for a 9 month jail sentence (his attorney explained that the man wanted to “get his life together,” and spend some time off the streets).
Within days, my supervisors called me in on the carpet and castigated me for exceeding my authority. When I appealed to their humanity and emphasized that these men had clearly stolen food because they were hungry, I was reminded that reducing the charge, no matter how justified, was not my decision to make.
I promised my supervisors I would follow the rules in the future – knowing full well that I would not. When I was subsequently assigned the case of the second man, I worked out a favorable plea agreement for him as well.
Am I the first person to have pity on someone trying to feed themself by criminal activity? Certainly not – in fact, the most famous example of this impulse occurred in February of 1846. “(T)he French writer Victor Hugo was on his way to work when he saw something that affected him profoundly.
“A thin young man with a loaf of bread under his arm was being led away by police. Bystanders said he was being arrested for stealing the loaf. He was dressed in mud-spattered clothes, his bare feet thrust into clogs, his ankles wrapped in bloodied rags in lieu of stockings.
The effect of levitra online india Kamagra varies among person to person. Best Ways To Coach A Team generic viagra from canada Baseball: Walk It Off. They improve teaching, learning, and socialization strategies buy viagra in india http://raindogscine.com/el-gran-pipicucu-finalizo-su-rodaje/ based on their taste. The feeling of disgust comes in and the negativity clouds the person, which makes discount viagra pharmacy him even poorer in bed.“’It made me think,’ wrote Hugo. ‘The man was no longer a man in my eyes but the specter of la misère, of poverty.’”
Hugo incorporated this scene into his novel, Les Miserables, “the story of Jean Valjean, an out-of-work peasant who steals a loaf of bread in order (to) feed not just himself but his sister and her seven children…Hugo uses that loaf to smite society’s conscience and highlight the injustice of the penal system. “
In the years since 1846, the world has drastically changed. Today, there are social networks including Food Stamps and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), which is designed to provide “federal grants to states for supplemental foods, health care referrals, and nutrition education for low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and non-breastfeeding postpartum women, and to infants and children up to age five who are found to be at nutritional risk.”
Remembering that “man does not eat by bread alone,” there is also public assistance available to put a roof over the heads of the impoverished as well as Medicaid, which “provides health coverage to millions of Americans, including eligible low-income adults, children, pregnant women, elderly adults and people with disabilities.”
Are these programs perfect? Have they eliminated poverty? Far from it – but the resources available to the poor today are a far cry from the days of Victor Hugo and his protagonist, Jean Valjean.
Yet, despite these advancements, there are those who are not satisfied with the efforts made by our nation to reduce the effects of poverty.
The Report concludes tomorrow
Illustration: Pixabay