DC Council Appoints Paroled Murderer To Sentencing Commission
The DC Council has appointed a patrolled murderer to the city commission charged with setting guidelines for prison sentences.
On Tuesday, twelve members of the commission that drafts and modifies criminal sentencing guidelines voted to elect convicted murderer Joel Castón to the 17-person board.
Castón will be the first person who has been incarcerated to serve on the commission.
The council’s appointment of a convicted murderer to its leadership comes amid the District’s ongoing crime surge in homicides, carjacking, and robberies.
Castón garnered praise from local leaders during his rehabilitation in prison and acclimation to civilian life, the Washington Times reports.
Last year, D.C. had the fifth-highest per capita murder rate among the nation’s biggest cities,
