Woke Milwaukee DA who freed Waukesha parade murderer is slammed by grieving parents

A Milwaukee family that lost their son to a driver going 109 mph when he hit a tree has criticized the county district attorney who has fought for lower bail levels.

Danari Peer, 20, died while riding in the passenger side of Jai’Quann McMurty’s car on October 5.

McMurtry had three felony offenses on his record involving gun and cocaine possession and was out on bail when he was driving the car, having received only $1,000 bail and $500 cash bail for the offences.

Nicole Byrd and Jackie Peer blame their son’s death on the lax bail policies of District Attorney John T. Chisholm.

Chisholm was elected Milwaukee County district attorney in 2007 and immediately began advocating for lower cash bail for felons, such as McMurtry and Waukesha parade killer Darrell Brooks.

McMurtry has been charged with three felony counts of jumping bail, cocaine possession, driving without a license and second-degree manslaughter in connection with the accident.

He appeared on crutches and a wheelchair when he pleaded not guilty in a Milwaukee County court Thursday. Bail was set at $50,000, which Peer’s parents still believe is insufficient.

Jackie Peer, Danari’s father, said: “In two years, he racked up six felonies and was still allowed to be on the streets.”

His mother, Nicole Byrd, added: “We are fighting to get catch and release eliminated.” This is not just justice for our son. This is for Milwaukee, for our community.’

They believe the county must act and are asking the Brooks victims to join them ‘when they feel up to it.’

Milwaukee has never abolished cash bail and neither has the state, but prosecutors in the DA’s office advocate lower amounts.

In 2007, Chisholm told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: ‘Is there going to be an individual that I divert, or put in a treatment program, that is going to go out and kill somebody? your bet Guaranteed. It’s guaranteed to happen.

“It does not invalidate the general approach.”

It came last year, when Waukesha parade killer Darrell Brooks was out on the streets after it emerged he had been released on bail twice this year despite a long criminal history dating back to 1999.

Chisholm issued a statement admitting that Brooks, 39, should not have been released on $1,000 bail earlier this month following an alleged hit-and-run incident involving his girlfriend.

Brooks received six life sentences on November 16 after he was found guilty of the same number of intentional homicide charges.

The judge symbolically added at least another 1,067 years to life sentences to underscore the seriousness of the crimes for which she said Brooks showed “no remorse or empathy.”

Brooks, 40, received the sentence after a circuit court jury in Waukesha, Wisconsin, found him guilty on Oct. 26 of 76 criminal counts, including six counts of intentional homicide.

But Chisholm, 58, has previously bragged about allowing a nonprofit organization that opposes cash bail to audit his office, and has spoken repeatedly about trying to reduce his county’s jail population.

Following Brooks’ arrest, Chisholm’s office released a statement Monday admitting the career criminal’s bail was set “inappropriately low.”

‘The bail recommendation in this case is not consistent with the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s Office’s approach to matters involving violent crimes, nor was it consistent with the defendant’s risk assessment prior to setting bail.

“This office is currently conducting an internal review of the decision to make the recent bond recommendation in this matter to determine the appropriate next steps,” the statement read.

The massive misstep in the Milwaukee law office’s handling of Brooks’ bail proceedings comes as the career prosecutor and longtime Milwaukee County district attorney Chisholm sought to send fewer residents from Wisconsin to prison while maintaining public safety, amid an unprecedented influx of crime. in Milwaukee County.

To combat the crime wave, Chisholm enlisted the help of the Vera Institute of Justice, a New York-based nonprofit group that works with government and civic leaders “to improve the services people trust for safety and security.” justice,” according to the organization’s website.

Their website explicitly says that Vera is opposed to cash bail. Advocates say the measure unfairly penalizes the poorest and results in a disproportionate number of ethnic minority suspects in jails awaiting trial. But opponents say the measure often results in professional criminals being immediately released onto the streets to commit more crime, and the measure is partly blamed for the continued rise in crime in New York City.

Milwaukee County still enforces cash bail rules. But through this coalition with Vera, Chisholm also sought to address the prevailing racial disparities in incarceration in the predominantly white county, with Wisconsin leading the nation in incarceration for blacks.

Vera Institute President Nicholas Turner praised Chisholm’s efforts in the 2015 New Yorker article.

He said: ‘For a long time, prosecutors have defined themselves through conviction rates and winning the big cases with the big sentences. But the evidence certainly indicates that achieving security and justice requires more than just imprisoning people for long periods of time.

“Prosecutors have to redefine their proper role in a new era. Chisholm stuck his neck out and began saying that prosecutors too should be judged for their success in reducing mass incarceration and achieving racial equality.’

According to data compiled by the Milwaukee Employment and Training Institute, more than half of all African-American men between the ages of 30 and 40 residing in the state of Wisconsin have spent some time in state prisons.

Jackie Peer said CBS 58: ‘We are not going to leave. This is something we feel we need to continue to honor Danari and help other families.’