When it comes to getting people to rethink their actions, few things are more powerful than shame.
And I can\’t help thinking that shame – quite possibly along with some long-overdue pressure from Trenton – is motivating District Attorney/prosecutor jim mcclain to “rehthink” his obsessive pursuit of Shaneen Allen. Ms. Allen, as regular readers of this blog know, is the young mother of two whom he wants to jail for 3 1/2 – 10 years because she informed a New Jersey police officer she had a legally obtained gun in her possession – unaware that the permit for that gun, obtained in Pennsylvania, would not be recognized in New Jersey.
Excerpted from Linda Cohen\’s article for the Press of Atlantic City:
AtlanticCounty Prosecutor Jim McClain told a judge his office is reviewingits position in the case of a Philadelphia mother facing prison timefor bringing her legally owned gun into New Jersey.
ShaneenAllen, 27, was arrested last year after she was pulled over Oct. 1 onthe Atlantic City Expressway in Hamilton Township, and told the statetrooper she had her gun and a concealed carry permit with her. Shesays she did not know it was illegal to bring the gun into NewJersey.
McClainhas faced criticism for denying Allen admission into a diversionprogram that would allow her to complete a program and avoidprosecution. It is a stance the prosecutor has taken in most of thesecases, under the state\’s strict Graves Act.
“Iam presently in the process of reviewing our office\’s position onthe appropriate resolution of this matter,” McClain wrote in aletter sent last week to Superior Court Judge Michael Donio.
Heasked that the case be adjourned for three weeks to allow the review.Donio granted the request.
Yeah, great idea. You “review our office\’s position”, jim. Nice of you to consider doing so after putting Ms. Allen through hell for almost a year, knowing that, as a single mother working at two different jobs, she could not possibly have the resources to effectively fight back.
Now how about you “review our office\’s position” on ray rice, the guy you needed no review at all to give that diversion program to – after he punched his girlfriend unconscious and dragged her by the hair out of an Atlantic City elevator. Even if it is too late to reverse your overt show of deference to an undeserving football star, can we, at the very least, hear a few words of remorse about it.
I\’m sure Shaneen Allen would like to hear those words, as a tiny consolation while she tries to put her life back together again – assuming your office review doesn\’t result in continuing to treat her like an unrepentant felon instead of a hard-working woman trying to protect herself, that is.
