Only in America do we blame victims like Iryna Zarutska

Victor Davis Hanson on the murder of Iryna Zarutska

"The truth is that we have a crime problem in the United States in the African-American inner city. Not in rural African-American communities. Not in African-American women. Not necessarily in African-American men over 40 or 50. But from 15 to 40, that demographic comprises about 3% of the country, and they’re committing about 50% of the violent crimes, as we saw with Iryna. And yet, we didn’t talk about it.

In fact, we were told by the mayor not to politicize this. She politicized this by saying that arresting people would not solve the problem. Had you arrested Mr. Decarlos Brown, it would’ve solved the problem.

She said, “We can’t demonize the homelessness.” If demonizing the homelessness means that they’re not going to slit somebody’s throat, I will prefer that Iryna be alive and I will demonize Mr. Decarlos Brown for having 14 felonies.

And finally, another pathology or another wound was revealed. The magistrate, Teresa Stokes, allowed him, with 14 felonies, up on another felony of misusing the 911 system.

That in itself may not have been an existential crime, but given his record of violence, why didn’t she keep him in jail? Why wasn’t there an indictment and a trial and conviction?"