Sacramento shooting suspect released early from soft-on-crime laws

A new report shows that Smiley Martin, the second of three suspects arrested in connection with Sunday’s bloody shooting in Sacramento, Calif., was released from prison early, despite stark opposition from District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert.

Martin was sentenced to ten years in prison in 2018, but was released early thanks to California’s increasingly lax criminal code.

Prior to his release, Schubert wrote a letter to the parole board, urging them not to release Martin, warning of his life-long criminal career.

“Inmate Martin has, for his entire adult life, displayed a pattern of criminal behavior. While the current case on review may not be ‘violent’ under the Penal Code, Inmate Martin’s criminal conduct is violent and lengthy,” she wrote.  

“Inmate Martin has committed several felony violations and clearly has little regard for human life and the law, which can be shown by his conduct in his prior felony convictions of robbery, possession of a firearm and prior misdemeanor conviction of providing false information to a peace officer,” she added.

Backlash to leftist soft-on-crime laws has been growing steadily across the country amidst a crime wave involving criminals with lengthy arrest records that have been released early in states like New York and California.  

According to the Sacramento Bee, Martin was arrested in Sacramento on Monday on charges of assault with a deadly weapon and possession of a firearm by a prohibited person. Police records show that Martin’s gun had allegedly been stolen and was subsequently converted into a fully automatic weapon – a crime for which he will also face charges.

Six people were killed and another dozen were injured on Sunday when multiple shooters opened fire in downtown Sacramento as dozens of people flooded out of local bars and restaurants at 2 a.m., officials said. No suspects have yet been taken into custody.

President Joe Biden was quick to politicize Sunday’s gruesome mass shooting in Sacramento, Calif., urging Congress to pass “comprehensive gun crime reduction” legislation in the wake of the tragedy.

"Today, America once again mourns for another community devastated by gun violence," Biden said in a statement on Sunday night. "In a single act in Sacramento, six individuals left dead and at least a dozen more injured. Families forever changed. Survivors left to heal wounds both visible and invisible."

Although the President was quick to thank first responders, he abruptly changed gears and blamed lax gun control for impacting the lives of “victims and families who do not make national headlines,” Fox News reported.

"We must do more than mourn; we must act," the Democratic president said. "That is why my Administration has taken historic executive action to implement my comprehensive gun crime reduction strategy — from standing up gun trafficking strike forces to helping cities across the country expand community violence interventions and hire more police officers for community policing."