By Roger Caldwell
“In his first morning as state attorney, Andrew Bain made immediate and sweeping chances. He fired two executive staff members, canceled the offices catch-and release policy and discounted the office’s diversion programs while he evaluated their effectiveness,” says Christopher Cann, Reporter of Orlando Sentinel.
The same way it made no sense to suspend the present Orange and Osceola County state attorney Monique Worrell by Governor DeSantis for not doing her job. State Attorney Worrell is a Black woman Democrat and the appointed State Attorney Andrew Bain is a Black Republican, and a member of the conservative Federalist Society.
The diversion program was designed for non-violent, low-level crimes including driving with a suspended license, resisting an officer without violence and underage drinking. Worrell also had in place a pre-trial diversion program for veterans, juveniles and a multi-level program for drug users.
It was obvious that Worrell was doing her job, and was making a difference in the Black and Brown communities. Many of the programs that Bain eliminated his first day were giving poor people an opportunity to right a wrong.
“Interestingly, it’s my understanding that the person who’s taking place as number two is one of the individuals who lost to me in an election. You see how that works. You lose an election and then you can just come back,” says suspended Ms. Worrell.
Even though 66% of the community voted ex-State Attorney Worrell into office, the governor is not listening to the will of the voters. The new chief assistant will be Ryan Williams, who ran unsuccessfully against Worrell in the 2020 Democratic primary.
“Effective immediately, I am rescinding the catch and release policy that has been in place for too long. We must return the principle of prosecutorial discretion, one that relies on thorough analysis of each case’s facts and the laws of Florida. The catch –and –release policy allowed people awaiting a hearing in immigration court to be released from custody,” says Andrew Bain.
It is inferred that ex-state’s attorney Worrell was soft on crime, and letting criminals out on the street. This was further from the truth, because Worrell said many people went to prison, because those people had proved to be a danger to our community.
When the new state attorney starts his first day canceling policies that are working, everyone is confused and surprised. It is extremely easy to listen to the governor, instead of the people in the community. Many of these programs started with state attorney Aramis Ayala, and it does not make sense to stop things that are working.
Instead of evaluating the effectiveness of the programs first, Bain will bog down the judicial system that has not gotten over the disruptions caused by the pandemic. When Bain was running for judge, he supported the diversion program, and now he is not supporting it.
Governor DeSantis is helping Bain make some of his decisions, and it does not matter who is hurt by the decisions. Judge Andrew Bain is taking over, and he said at a press conference that the state attorney was a very simple job.
“We are here to prosecute crimes and hold people accountable. My plan is to bring back that simple understanding, get back to the basics of what we’re here to do,” says Bain.
The new state attorney Andrew Bain may find out that there is more to the job than just prosecuting criminals, and getting back to the basics. The community cannot change the suspension of Worrell, but the community can take action and let the governor know we are upset with the suspension decision of state attorney Monique Worrell.
The community must also hold the new state attorney Andrew Bain accountable, with the cancelation of the diversion program, and other programs. There is much more to the job than prosecuting criminals.
