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Crime rates are on the rise in the United States, particularly in cities under liberal leadership, which are increasingly seen as some of the most dangerous places in the world. Frankly, one might argue that walking through a low-income Chicago neighborhood at night is riskier than strolling through “war-torn” Ukraine. One of the factors contributing to the dire state of crime in the US are the misguided, failed left-wing policies, including movements such as Black Lives Matter and Defund the Police. Additionally, there’s a growing trend on the left to portray cold-blooded criminals as victims and even heroes, which adds to the criminal chaos we face. Sadly, we see examples of this twisted behavior all over the place these days. There’s an actual brutal crime that occurred in Washington that perfectly exemplifies the ignorance and absurdity of the left’s soft-on-crime stance that is destroying this nation.
A black man brutally murdered his white ex-girlfriend after subjecting her to an extremely toxic and abusive relationship, from which she had desperately tried to break free. Now, some “woke” prosecutors want to offer him a sweet deal because he’s black. Rather than pursuing charges for a “hate crime,” they’re taking a more lenient approach because he’s seen as yet another black man who’s a victim of an allegedly unfair and racist system.
These people have lost their minds.
Ellis is Black. Wendi was white. Does it matter? Ellis’ defense attorney hopes a judge will think so, suggesting in a series of court filings that Black suspects should get special consideration, no matter how heinous the crime. It is a worrisome, if not outright racist idea of progress — one we must reject if we hope to reform our justice system into one that is truly blind.
Wendy’s murder was gruesome, and her body was left lying there like a discarded pile of trash.
Before discussing the legal maneuvers at play, it’s important to understand the brutal nature of the crime Ellis confessed to committing — how Wendi suffered a fate too many women in this state fear at the hands of someone she once loved. Wendi was 25 years old when Ellis shot her in the head. The two recently moved to Kentucky before Wendi returned home to escape what her family describes as a toxic relationship. They claim Ellis repeatedly tried to coax Wendi back. When that failed, he drove to Washington and put a bullet in her brain.
The defense is pushing for a lenient sentence, basically arguing that the black killer had no option but to commit brutal murder against his white girlfriend. This appears to be the narrative they are presenting, and it seems that the prosecutors are totally buying it. The piece goes on:
When he appears in court on Friday, it will be the second time Ellis has been sentenced for killing Wendi. At his first trial in 2019, a Pierce County jury convicted him of second-degree murder. Judge James Orlando gave Ellis more than 20 years – the maximum sentence allowed by law. In addition to a 220-month sentence for the murder, Judge Orlando added a 60-month firearm enhancement. Judge Orlando lamented that he could not put Ellis in prison for longer. “The autopsy pictures from Wendi’s case will haunt me. You didn’t do anything that deserves less than the high end. … It is still probably far less than what is deserved in this case,” he said. “I’ve never had anybody that treated a dead body as callously as you did,” he added, referring to a witness whose testimony suggests Ellis may have returned to the apartment in the days after the murder to feed his dog, ignoring her corpse in the process. But justice for Wendi was short-lived. In 2021, the Washington State Court of Appeals overturned the conviction, citing prosecutorial misconduct. According to the ruling, Prosecutor John Neeb “invoked racial stereotypes” by referring to The People vs. O.J. Simpson during jury selection. The reference was a clumsy attempt to explain to jurors that “The People” refers to the prosecution. While it was not directed at Ellis, the court found it could have deprived Ellis of a fair trial.
Despite the setback, the facts of the case remained strong, and a second conviction seemed likely given Ellis confessed to the crime. Instead, Wendi’s family was stunned to learn that prosecutors intended to offer Ellis a deal. In exchange for a guilty plea, they would drop the gun enhancement entirely and recommend the lowest possible sentence under the law — 123 months. With good behavior and credit for time served, Ellis could be out of prison by 2026.
The woke state of Washington wants to use this murder case, where a beautiful and vibrant woman suffered a gunshot wound to her brain, as a platform to advocate for violent black men. It’s hard to imagine anything more “progressive” than this. The article continues:
So why would prosecutors offer such a light deal, over the objections of Wendi’s family? While the facts of the case haven’t changed, Washington’s political environment has. More specifically, attitudes around race and criminal justice are much different now. A sentencing memorandum from Ellis’ public defender, Mary K. High, alludes to the current climate in Washington. It also offers insights into the kind of misguided thinking that makes plea deals like the one Ellis received possible, mistakenly describing them as progress. In it, High said Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Dru Swaim showed a “commitment to equity and anti-racism” — suggesting the recommendation was based on Ellis’ skin color, rather than the nature of his crime. Now she hopes that brand of “anti-racism” will carry through to sentencing.
Public defender Mary K. High wrote a highly disturbing sentencing memorandum evidently crafted to appeal to the newly appointed judge’s “woke” sensibilities.
If Judge Arend were the one sentencing Joshua Ellis, the data set would be relevant. But she’s not. Ellis’ sentencing will be handled by Judge André M. Peñalver, who was appointed by Governor Jay Inslee in 2021. Could it be that Judge Arend’s record and data from the chosen timeframe fits the narrative High is trying to paint? Regardless, High’s suggestion is clear: She believes Pierce County judges have a track record of racism against black defendants. Her solution? Employ a different type of racism by artificially lowering sentences for black offenders, regardless of the nature of the crime. It’s important to note that judges are not bound by any pre-sentencing deals. One can only hope that Judge Peñalver sees through the tactic, which was no doubt tailored to appeal to him as a relatively new jurist who has advocated publicly for criminal justice reform. In that sense, High’s tactics are brilliant — albeit alarming. “I want to puke,” Wendi Traynor’s mom wrote in an email after reading the filings. Her disgust is justified. Ellis’ skin color does not make Wendi any less dead. Her life, and its value, must not be weighed by the skin color of the man who took it.
The only reason skin color should be considered in this case is as an additional hate crime charge levied against this violent and abusive predator, who shouldn’t see the light of day ever again.
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