It’s time to make some sense of the circular and repetitive criminal justice discourse that has engulfed Marion County for several years, most recently culminating in Sanchez-gate .

The debate is driven largely by the tough-on-crimebrigade: people like state Rep. Andrew Ireland, R-Franklin Township, Indianapolis police union president Rick Snyder and others who devote public energy to criticizing Mayor Joe Hogsett, Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears and a rotating cast of judges for what they describe as failures to keep the city safe.

Their core contention is that prosecutors and judges let too many arrested or convicted violent criminals off the hook with easy bail or light sentences, and that this leniency is the main driver of public-safety problems in Indianapolis. Whenever one o

See Full Page