Thread by @TiffanyBond

I would like to tell you a story about $11.19.

You see, today I was Lawyer of the Day for folks in custody. Going into this it is virtually certain that everyone helped will be poor, be ineligible for bail, and/or have serious charges; everyone else will have bailed out. #LOD

There were several tragedies I handled today, but one of these really stuck out. I'm telling this story with permission, but using the pseudonym Bob for privacy.

Bob went to grab a beverage.

Three, in fact.

Three Mike's Hard Lemonades.

Bob didn't have his wallet.

Bob did what many folks have done with youthful impulse - Bob bolted.

Unfortunately, Bob is a habitual offender.

This means that even though the value of these items was $11.19, Bob was charged with both a felony and a misdemeanor, with an offer of 60 days in jail.

At the end of the day, it was haggled down to "only" a misdemeanor with 30 days in jail.

This DA knows how I feel about this issue and we (mostly) agreed to skip a 30+ minute public policy argument about the ROI and efficacy of jail time for low $ thefts.

This is a policy failure.

It's ineffective. It overbearing. It's financially inefficient and wasteful.

30 days in jail over $11.19.

Think of all of the rehabilitative efforts we could pay for using that same $.

We can do better than this, so very much better.