In a city racking up more than a murder a day, Mayor Nutter is right to be outraged that bail was reduced for a man with a dozen prior arrests, including attempted murder and assault, who allegedly used his freedom to plot another homicide.
The mayor is trying to enlist all of Philadelphia in his efforts to fight crime. That includes the people in black robes who sit above the prosecutors and defendants. But sometimes the lack of cooperation is daunting.
On Jan. 5, over the objections of a prosecutor who cited Jorge Aldea's prior arrests, Common Pleas Court Judge Nazario Jimenez Jr. reduced bail for Aldea, who was being held for allegedly carrying a loaded handgun outside a grocery store. Hours after Aldea made bail, another warrant was issued for him. Police have since charged him in the execution-style murder of a witness to an earlier homicide.
The defendant's prior record, coupled with the judge's decision to try him on serious gun charges, should have been enough to hold him at the higher bail. "We have to ask our judiciary to be that much more mindful when reviewing cases that include some of these dangerous people who should not be in the streets of Philadelphia," the mayor said.
Nutter is keeping up his end by setting aside more money for police overtime in high-crime areas, a new class at the Police Academy, and more money for witness protection. With District Attorney Seth Williams, Nutter is also coordinating crime fighting with state and federal authorities, focusing on illegal guns.
The mayor's idea of a $500 bounty for information leading to the arrest and conviction of anyone carrying an illegal gun, and a $20,000 reward if it leads to a murder conviction, are practical ways to get neighborhoods involved in their own protection.
None of these measures on their own will stop the ravaging of communities beset by crime. But with full engagement from every level of the criminal justice system, and the involvement of victims, potential victims, and their neighbors, more Philadelphians can be saved from vicious thugs.
