Seattle experiment says no jailtime for crime, but has taxpayers split bill

Under an experimental program in King County, first-time criminals will not see jail time for crimes, nor pay restitution. Instead, the suspects get a pass from any jailtime or record, with the "community" choosing the punishment. Plus, as an added bonus, county taxpayers will quite literally pay for the crimes.

It’s the latest scheme from King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg to give a pass to criminals, while giving himself the ability to ignore his job. And even though these crimes disproportionately occur in Seattle, it’ll be the entire county that pays...

Under the "restorative justice" program, non-violent, first-time felons will face a non-profit community panel to decide how the offender will be held accountable. But Satterberg won’t define what he means by accountability.

"We can send that person instead (of jail) to a community accountability group, who will define what they think accountability means," Satterberg told KOMO TV.

Taxpayers literally pay a price

The victims of these crimes do get to recover stolen or destroyed property. We will all have to pay for it, rather than the criminal.

"Sometimes it can take years before restitution is paid to a victim and the person responsible may repeatedly come back to court when they don’t pay," Satterberg told KOMO. "The reality of the situation right now is, victims are not being taken care of. This will help us take care of their immediate needs to a cap of, say, $500."