We live in weird times

Oops, my bad. I feel your pain: That's virtually all it takes for some violent offenders to avoid jail time in Brooklyn, courtesy of DA Joe Hynes.

He's signed on to a scheme - "Common Justice" - launched by the Vera Institute for Criminal Justice, a gaggle of do-gooders dedicated to keeping bad guys out of jail.
Vera asks, "What if, instead of being locked up, the assailant had an opportunity to apologize and try to make things right?"

What if, indeed.

Let's be clear. Petty criminals need not apply. Potential participants have been convicted of "a range of serious charges . . . including burglary, robbery and assault."
Rather than going directly to jail, the convicts have a heart-to-heart with their victims - "in a safe environment, with a support team present," including a "facilitator," of course.
There they "discuss what happened and arrive at an alternative sanction, [including] community service or restitution."

Vera claims this is meant to "improve victims' experiences of justice" while supposedly reducing violent criminals' "chances of reoffending."

Now, we always thought the best way to prevent "reoffending" was separating thugs from their prey.

Moreover, the idea that those "hurt by violent crime [should] help determine the consequences for the person who harmed them" is pernicious nonsense.

Yes, a crime of violence has a victim.
But each crime is prosecuted as an offense against the community - and against the rule of law.
Allowing individual victims to participate actively in crafting punishment stands to corrode the notion of impartial justice - the very essence of the rule of law.

Indeed, the now-ubiquitous "victim impact statements" were the first step down this road.
Surely Joe Hynes understands this.

Yes, he has something of the social worker lurking inside him - witness his drug-court program, which lets repeat felony drug offenders forgo prison by going into treatment.
That also is nonsense - but it's not particularly dangerous nonsense.
Offering convicted thugs a walk for saying "I'm sorry" can get somebody killed.
And it probably will.