SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Last week, a Woodford County man was arrested after a lengthy investigation and the execution of a search warrant at his home.
The Woodford County state’s attorney charged 37-year-old Aaron Smith with 21 counts of possession of child pornography, and filed a petition to deny pre-trial release.
After considering the evidence and the requirements of the Pretrial Fairness Act, the judge in the case ruled that he could not detain Smith, who was released with various conditions. Those conditions included being prohibited from being in contact with anyone under the age of 18, and not being allowed to use the internet.
On Tuesday, on the House floor in Springfield, State Rep. Dennis Tipsword (R-Metamora) asked,“Who is going to enforce these ridiculous conditions?”
Tipsword went on to say it’s not the police officers’ fault, it’s not the state’s attorney’s fault, and it’s not the judge’s fault. He said, “Look around this chamber…it is our fault.”
“We are the ones who have diminished our criminal justice system to a form of ‘catch and release’, with the hope that the defendant may someday come back for trial. It’s time we pull our collective heads out of the sand, and repeal this horrible law…but we won’t, because that would be admitting that some of us were wrong,” Tipsword said.
Tipsword says instead, state lawmakers in the General Assembly are doubling down, by just this spring, moving bills that would further reduce the accountability of criminals by giving them a pathway for early release…even though they have committed the most horrific crimes imaginable, including homicide and child sex crimes,” Tipsword said.
Additionally, state lawmakers are moving to limit how police officers conduct search warrants, making it more difficult for them to do their job, and at the same time, Tipsword says, “And, yes unbelievably, lowering the distance a sexual predator can live from a school or park…and we do all of this in the name of criminal justice,” Tipsword said.
A more prudent approach, Tipsword said, would be to hold criminals accountable for the crimes they commit, enact sentencing enhancements, and give judges back their judicial discretion.
“It’s time we listen to the stakeholders, and admit this is not working,” Tipsword said.
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