Category:Justice Watch
Justice Watch — Tracking questionable judicial decisions, bail settings, and related incidents.
About
Justice Watch monitors patterns in judicial practices, with a focus on repeat offenders, questionable bail decisions, and other notable cases. All tracked incidents are listed below.
Incidents
| Date | Location | Decision-Maker | Incident | Outcome | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-12 | Cleveland, OH | Judge Joy Kennedy | Repeat offender bail reduced from $500k to $5k | Offender killed days after release | |||
| 2025-08 | Charlotte, NC | Mecklenburg County Courts | Decarlos Brown Jr. (repeat offender) free to roam | Murdered Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on light rail | |||
| 2025-08 | Nashville, TN | Nashville courts (multiple judges) | Mohamed Mohamed — 16 prior charges, 15 dropped or dismissed | Raped woman to death on church steps | |||
| 2025-10 | Washington, DC | Judge Kendra Briggs (Biden appointee) | Probation + community service; no incarceration | ||||
| 2025-10 | Charlotte, NC | Mecklenburg County Courts | James Raeford — 19th arrest, shot 3-year-old child | Initially released without bond; $500k bond set at first hearing | |||
| 2025-10 | NYC (Manhattan/Bronx) | NYC Criminal Courts | Demitri Marshall released on supervised release after Bronx slashing | Slashed second victim outside Manhattan subway within weeks | |||
| 2025-10 | Chevy Chase, MD / Baltimore, MD | Judge Deborah Boardman | Kavanaugh assassination plotter sentenced below guidelines | 97 months + lifetime supervised release (below guidelines) | |||
| 2025-11 | Chicago, IL | Judge Teresa Molina-Gonzalez (Cook County) | Denied detention for Lawrence Reed (49 prior arrests) after assaulting social worker | Reed boarded CTA train, set woman on fire | |||
| 2025-11 | Charlotte, NC | Mecklenburg County Courts | Detabian Fortenberry — 56th arrest, assault on woman | Released within 2 days | |||
| 2025-11 | Fairfax County, VA | Queens DA Melinda Katz | Queens man with no record sentenced for shooting mugger with 15 prior arrests | 4 years prison for unlicensed firearm | |||
| 2025-11 | Wayne County, NY | NY State Board of Parole | Chad Campbell — double murderer (1990), sentenced 18-to-life | Paroled after 35 years; release March 12, 2026 | |||
| 2025-12 | Alameda County, CA | Voters/Democratic Party | Recalled DA Pamela Price announced 2026 re-run | Announced candidacy one year after recall | |||
| 2025-12 | San Francisco, CA | Judge Michael Begert (SF Superior Court) | Thea Hopkins considered for mental health diversion after shoving Asian elder to death | Diversion hearings repeatedly postponed; Hopkins on bail | |||
| 2026-01 | Las Vegas, NV | Judge Richard Boulware II (US Dist. Ct., Nevada) | Ordered release of convicted MS-13 murderer with final deportation order | Released despite ICE detainer and final removal order | Judge Richard Boulware II (US Dist. Ct., Nevada)]] | Ordered release of convicted MS-13 murderer with final deportation order | Released despite ICE detainer and final removal order |
| 2026-01 | Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN | Magistrate Judge Douglas Micko (D. MN) | Blocked DOJ arrest warrants for Don Lemon re: anti-ICE church invasion | Conflict of interest raised (wife is asst. AG under Ellison); Lemon later arrested | |||
| 2026-01 | Fairfax County, VA | DA Steve Descano (Fairfax, VA) | Offered insanity plea deal for cold-blooded murder of CEO Gret Glyer | Family opposed deal; sought jury trial | |||
| 2026-02 | San Francisco, CA | Judge Bruce Chan (SF Superior Court) | 80-year-old driver who killed family of 4 at bus stop pled no contest | No prison time indicated; sentencing pending | |||
| 2026-02 | North Carolina | Gov. Roy Cooper (2021 settlement) | COVID-era NAACP settlement fast-tracked 3,500 releases incl. 51 lifers | Released 51 inmates serving life sentences for murder/rape | |||
| 2025-10 | Austin, TX | DA José Garza | Convicted felon's charges repeatedly declined by DA | Killed father of five at 7-Eleven | Judicial Watch | ||
| 2025-12-22 | Roanoke, VA | VSP / Courts | I-81 Christmas Crash | Truck driver killed 3 (grandmother, daughter, 2-year-old), charges dropped, carrier identity concealed by VSP, courts, and tow yard for months | FreightWaves WDBJ7 | ||
| 2025-02-21 | Bridgeport, CT | Psychiatric Security Review Board | Tyree Smith Conditional Release | Axe murderer and cannibal granted conditional release after 12 years of 60-year psychiatric commitment; victim's family objected | Hartford Courant NBC CT | ||
| 2026-02-12 | Boston, MA | MA Parole Board | Patrick Kelley Parole | Habitual criminal serving 3 life sentences for raping 76-year-old woman and nurse granted parole; board cited 30 years sobriety | MassLive Boston Herald | ||
| 2026-03-05 | Fairfax County, VA | DA Steve Descano | Reed Bus Stop Murder - Descano Drops Charges | Fairfax DA Descano drops murder charge against repeat felon/child sex offender who stabbed homeless man at bus stop; released from federal prison 1 year prior | WUSA9 FOX 5 | ||
| 2026-02-24 | Fairfax County, VA | DA Steve Descano | Jalloh Bus Stop Murder - Descano Dropped 40+ Charges | Illegal immigrant with 40+ prior charges (rape, malicious wounding) killed woman at bus stop; police had warned Descano's office he would reoffend | WJLA WJLA | ||
| 2024-12-01 | Las Vegas, NV | Judge Erika Ballou | Tavari Pearson - 6 Months for Attempted Murder & Rape | Teen hit therapist with rock, strangled and raped her, left in ravine; Judge Ballou gave 6 months instead of 20 years; reoffended within months | KTNV KTNV | ||
| 2026-03-03 | New York, NY | NYC Courts / Parole | Damon Johnson - 131 Arrests, Set Man on Fire | Parolee with 131 prior arrests set sleeping homeless man on fire at Penn Station; on parole for face-slashing robbery | ABC7 NY Daily News | ||
| 2020-12-31 | San Francisco, CA | DA Chesa Boudin / Parole | Troy McAlister - 91 Felonies, Parole Agent Refused to Act | Parolee with 91 felonies released by DA Boudin, parole agent declined to revoke after 5 arrests in 6 months, killed two women in stolen car | Voice of SF ABC7 | ||
| 2025-10-05 | Akron, OH | Summit County Courts | Deshawn Stafford — Beat Teen to Death, 18 Months, Then Killed Again | Beat 17-year-old Ethan Liming to death at LeBron's I PROMISE School, acquitted of manslaughter, served 18 months for assault, then fatally shot innocent bystander Timothy Hutchinson in crossfire | News 5 Cleveland 19 |
Fraud
| Date | Case | Summary | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-11 | Minnesota Judges Overturn Somali Fraud Convictions | Three Hennepin County judges dismissed/overturned $7.2M Somali Medicaid fraud convictions despite unanimous jury verdicts | Fox News DCNF |
| 2025-11 | Abdifatah Yusuf — $7.2M Medicaid Fraud Verdict Thrown Out | Judge Sarah West (former public defender) overturned unanimous jury conviction for $7.2M Medicaid fraud; jurors called evidence "obvious"; business ran out of a mailbox | Fox News DCNF |
See Also
Pages in category "Justice Watch"
The following 33 pages are in this category, out of 33 total.