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* From March…
As Chicago’s top cop announced charges Friday against a convicted felon accused of brutally stabbing his ex-girlfriend and killing her 11-year-old son, Police Supt. Larry Snelling repeatedly said the attack “should’ve never happened.”
But questions remained over what should have been done to prevent the attack, including why Crosetti Brand, 37, was released from the Stateville Correctional Center on Tuesday after having been sent back to prison earlier this year for menacing the pregnant woman while on parole.
The next day, Brand allegedly forced his way into the woman’s Edgewater apartment, stabbed her repeatedly, then stabbed her son Jayden Perkins when the boy came to her aid.
The woman had repeatedly asked for help from authorities in the weeks before the attack, including seeking an emergency order of protection that was denied by a Cook County judge. […]
In the meantime, the woman sought an emergency protection order. During a Feb. 21 hearing, the woman told Judge Thomas Nowinski that Chicago police didn’t let her file a report when she called about Brand. Instead, they told her to get a protection order. “They asked me, do I have one currently,” she said, “and I told them no.”
At no time during the hearing did the judge ask questions about the alleged texts or Brand’s visit to the home, according to a transcript.
Nowinski decided against issuing an order, even though the woman testified under oath that she had previously sought one against Brand in 2009.
* Yesterday…
A man suspected of fatally stabbing his wife Tuesday in Portage Park had already been facing charges for allegedly choking and attempting to kidnap her last month, but he was released on GPS monitoring, the Chicago Sun-Times has learned.
Hours after the Tuesday stabbing, the suspect, 57, was found dead inside a car a block away.
An off-duty detective witnessed the stabbing about 2:25 p.m. in the 5600 block of West Leland Avenue and suffered a gunshot wound while trying to intervene, according to a preliminary statement from Chicago police. […]
The man was previously charged in a separate attack against his wife on Oct. 9 — the same day he was served with an emergency order of protection she had sought, court records show.
Prosecutors filed a petition that day to have him held in Cook County Jail pending trial, but it was denied by Judge Thomas E. Nowinski. Nowinski instead released the suspect on GPS monitoring, ordered him to refrain from possessing weapons and forbade him from visiting his wife’s home, work or school.
According to her petition for the protective order, the second the woman had sought against her husband this year, she said he grabbed her as she was walking to the bus, tried to cover her mouth to stop her from screaming and attempted to knock her unconscious.
Judge Nowinski, who serves in the court’s Domestic Violence Division, is Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cook County Iris Martinez’s former chief of staff.
* And before anyone pops off in comments, every major group that works with domestic violence survivors in this state supported the SAFE-T Act because it gave judges and prosecutors far more power to keep abusers behind bars until trial.
…Adding… From The Network, an anti-domestic violence advocacy organization…
Yesterday, a woman was stabbed to death by her husband in Portage Park, who then injured an off-duty police officer before taking his own life. According to media reports, the man was previously charged in a separate attack against his wife in October and prosecutors filed a petition to have him held in Cook County Jail pending trial. However, Judge Thomas E. Nowinski denied the petition and released the individual on electronic monitoring. Now, the woman is dead and a police officer is injured.
Judge Nowinski was also at the center of the tragic murder of 11-year-old Jayden Perkins by Crosetti Brand in March. A few weeks prior to the murder, Nowinski refused to issue an order of protection to Jayden’s mother, who was told by Chicago Police to seek order of protection after Brand sent threatening text messages and appeared at Perkins’ home.
Today, The Network: Advocating Against Domestic Violence is calling on Chief Judge Timothy Evans to reassign Judge Thomas Nowinski from the domestic violence division and ensure Nowinski no longer presides over any domestic violence cases.
“Judge Nowinski’s failure to protect the community has now resulted in two tragic, preventable murders,” said Amanda Pyron, President and CEO of The Network: Advocating Against Domestic Violence. “He has repeatedly shown he does not have the judgment necessary to keep survivors safe, and at a minimum he must be reassigned. When survivors go to the courts for protection, that protection must be effective. Judge Nowinski has failed in that duty, and allowing him to continue to hear domestic violence cases sends the wrong message to survivors across Chicagoland.”
“We also strongly encourage the Pretrial division to review procedures for domestic violence screening to ensure that judges have all necessary information to accurately understand risk, including recent petitions for orders of protection,” said Pyron. “The failure to provide correct information in this case proved lethal.”
…Adding… One of the judge’s longtime friends (who I also know well) wanted to get this into the record…
This is an awful tragedy. If there were tools to perfectly predict human behavior pretrial with zero error, they would be used to prevent these sorts of tragedies.
The facts of this case are that the defendant was served an order of protection to stay away from the victim at the hearing and placed on GPS monitoring. The petition to detain filed by the prosecution stated no history of orders of protection, no prior arrests for assault or threats, and no weapons used.
There are metrics used to assist in risk assessment on whether defendants should be held pretrial, and this defendant had very low pretrial risk assessment scores. He had a 1 for Domestic Violence Screening, no flag for violent criminal activity, and a 2 out of 6 on criminal activity scale. He had no prior convictions or supervisions in his background and no prior arrests for domestic battery based on what was presented in court.
Illinois Appellate Court precedent clearly states that judges must consider GPS and must issue the least restrictive conditions of release. If someone has no background and low scores from pretrial, and without other incidents, detention has routinely been reversed by the appellate court.
The role of protecting the community from violent offenders while also respecting the constitutional rights of the accused is complicated, especially in this modern era. Every case has different facts and must also be viewed in context with hundreds of previous cases that set precedent for the judiciary, public safety professionals, and the attorneys involved in these matters.
The person claims that the office of pretrial services and the state’s attorney claimed there was no history of orders of protection and no prior arrests for assault, harassment, or threats. The judge, he said, doesn’t recall anything brought up by the prosecutors, particularly not a threat to choke her. The state’s attorney didn’t appeal the decision.
posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Nov 20, 24 @ 8:30 am
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It could have happened just as easily under the old system. I am not trying to make any excuses but being a judge can be hard work and even a judge cannot predict the future
What is the alternative? Keep everyone served with an order of protection in jail for the length of the order?
Comment by DuPage Saint Wednesday, Nov 20, 24 @ 8:47 am
= Keep everyone served with an order of protection in jail for the length of the order? =
No, but when someone attacks the complainant on the same day they are served with an order of protection, that’s a strong indication to the court that the person is unlikely to comply with the conditions of release.
Comment by JoanP Wednesday, Nov 20, 24 @ 9:01 am
Ankle bracelet on the “alleged offender”. Blue tooth tracking app for the “victim”. I’m sure we have the technology.
Comment by Papa2008 Wednesday, Nov 20, 24 @ 9:01 am
Judges have the power but not necessarily the will. Prosecutors same. That is the major flaw inherent in the so called safet act. As long as the discretion of a human being is a factor, this kind of tragedy will persist. Domestic violence perps should not be released prior to trial. They are absolutely a danger to a person as specified in the law. Pity that judges don’t see it that way.
Comment by Captain Obvious Wednesday, Nov 20, 24 @ 9:17 am
==Chicago police didn’t let her file a report==
How does a regular person, especially a person without a computer and legal training, officially document these types of problems if not on a police report?
Is there an online form for a report less than an official police report? I suspect insiders will say domestic issues are complicated and I’m likely not seeing the whole picture. I’m just trying to understand the issue better.
Comment by Meredith Wednesday, Nov 20, 24 @ 9:25 am
One time you give a warning but a second threat or attack the only rational choice is lock the person up. Assuming the judge had all the information these individuals should have been detained. In that case the judge should be taken off this bench.
Comment by Center Drift Wednesday, Nov 20, 24 @ 9:27 am
Meredith-even if you try to file a police report online with CPD, if there is the slightest thing wrong with it, the system kicks it out (and then the report conveniently does not show up on the crime stats). Good luck trying to find a cop on duty to answer the phone for intake in some jurisdictions. Nor are cops excited to go out on these types of calls, precisely because they are the kind where they are at highest risk of personal liability/lawsuit if/when something goes wrong.
Comment by Mary Wednesday, Nov 20, 24 @ 9:38 am
= Ankle bracelet on the “alleged offender”. =
He was on GPS monitoring.
Comment by JoanP Wednesday, Nov 20, 24 @ 9:39 am
- As long as the discretion of a human being is a factor, this kind of tragedy will persist. -
That discretion was still present under cash bail.
Comment by Excitable Boy Wednesday, Nov 20, 24 @ 9:54 am
The system failed, but it was human failure by either the prosecutor or the judge or both. No way he should have been released after defying the protective order. Incredibly bad judgment or lack of effectively preparing and presenting the argument.
Comment by Lincoln Lad Wednesday, Nov 20, 24 @ 10:06 am
Disgraceful job by judge. Remove from the bench.
Comment by Ugh Wednesday, Nov 20, 24 @ 10:28 am
“As long as the discretion of a human being is a factor…”
The word you are looking for is “judgment” and that is literally what judges are put on the bench to exercise.
Thomas E. Nowinski quite simply failed to do his job.
No need to search for systemic causes for two terrible decisions made by the same man.
Thomas E. Nowinski is the problem.
– MrJM
Comment by @misterjayem Wednesday, Nov 20, 24 @ 10:37 am
Yes, the Judge is the problem. But so is this.
=== Chicago police didn’t let her file a report when she called about Brand. Instead, they told her to get a protection order. “They asked me, do I have one currently,” she said, “and I told them no.” ===
Unless this changes, it is simply a Catch-22 scenario in which women are abused and killed because the system has too many old-fashioned “do-loops” to actually be of any use for victims.
The police must investigate and insert themselves into such cases. Anything less is an affront to the idea of “protect and serve.”
Comment by H-W Wednesday, Nov 20, 24 @ 10:40 am
“That is the major flaw inherent in the so called safet act.”
I posted something a week or two ago about how this is playing out in Will County.
There was an arrest for aggravated discharge of a firearm, which is a detainable offense. It happened in a subdivision surrounded by houses.
The prosecutors refused to even file a petition to detain, and the offenders were released. These same prosecutors will then make statements about how the Safe-T act is ineffective. When a petition is filed by the prosecution, there are often required elements of the three-prong requirement completely missing from the petition to detain, which means the judge is left with no choice than to deny the petition to detain because the prosecutors have not properly met the requirements of the filing.
And that’s for a firearm defense, for domestic violence cases its even worse. I can look at the arrests last week excluding weekends in the county and see at least EIGHT DV arrests were released the next day. One of them included endangering a child as well as a DV charge.
Without a doubt in my mind, there are judges and prosecutors still having a tantrum over this law, and are purposely taking actions against the intent of the law. At this point, and not said without understanding the full import of it, there are judges and prosecutors which are a larger actual danger to the public.
It wasn’t that long ago Will County put a DV victim in jail for contempt, because she was terrified of her attacker.
There are a lot of old men who think beating women is perfectly acceptable. Some of them are judges and prosecutors.
Comment by TheInvisibleMan Wednesday, Nov 20, 24 @ 11:03 am
===It could have happened just as easily===
One judge, two dead women (that we know of) in eight months.
Stop being so reflexively defensive of the old system.
Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, Nov 20, 24 @ 11:07 am
===As long as the discretion of a human being is a factor===
No law can possibly cover every angle. Also, judges had discretion previously in setting bail.
You’re grasping at ridiculous straws.
Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, Nov 20, 24 @ 11:09 am
= Stop being so reflexively defensive of the old system. =
I didn’t read it that way, Rich. Seems to me the comment was saying, in effect, “don’t blame the SAFE-T Act, because it could have happened if we still had cash bail”.
Comment by JoanP Wednesday, Nov 20, 24 @ 11:13 am
@Joan P. That is way I meant it. safe T act not to blame. Human nature is. You can not predict future. Judge screwed up and he could have just as easily screwed up under old system or the next new system. I am not blaming judge unless he always screws up then send him to traffic court or let him do marriages
Comment by DuPage Saint Wednesday, Nov 20, 24 @ 11:41 am
GPS monitoring is the most restrictive form of pretrial release. It is very different from Electronic monitoring. The law presumes pre trial release is default. The judge used his judgment to put him on the most restrictive form of pretrial release. How is that an abuse of discretion? If there are certain circumstances that you want pretrial detainment to be default feel free to legislate that. The fact that everyone is uncomfortable with mandatory pre-trial detention in certain cases butts heads with what happened here. Nowinski was found qualified by every single bar association. (All 14)
Comment by Nope. Wednesday, Nov 20, 24 @ 11:48 am
===The fact that everyone is uncomfortable with===
Two dead women in 8 months. A course correction is needed. If you can’t see that, then you’re blind.
Comment by Rich Miller Wednesday, Nov 20, 24 @ 11:53 am
=Judges have the power but not necessarily the will. Prosecutors same.=
True too often.
Comment by JS Mill Wednesday, Nov 20, 24 @ 12:04 pm
Why the heck didn’t the bar associations flag this guy? I realize that the second tragedy happened after the recommendations were published, but that first one should have been enough to get him pulled out of DV court
Comment by Soccermom Wednesday, Nov 20, 24 @ 12:12 pm
===If there were tools to perfectly predict human behavior pretrial with zero error, they would be used to prevent these sorts of tragedies.===
There is no perfect prediction, but the offender from yesterday was previously arrested for attempting to strangle the victim. History of strangulation is a significant indicator of future risk of homicide. Either the prosecutors or the judge or both made serious errors and don’t belong in DV court (at best).
Comment by Leslie K Wednesday, Nov 20, 24 @ 12:59 pm
Misterjayem is correct.
Comment by Ugh Wednesday, Nov 20, 24 @ 1:20 pm
“ Nowinski was found qualified by every single bar association”
One of the best kept secrets in political circles is how political the bar associations are.
Comment by Iudex Wednesday, Nov 20, 24 @ 1:32 pm
the proper Nowinski body count is one woman killed, one child killed, one woman horribly injured as her child was killed. The only thing we ever need to hear from Nowinski’s friend again is the judge’s plans to resign
Comment by northsidelifer Wednesday, Nov 20, 24 @ 2:01 pm
Maybe the sheriff’s office, clerk of court, and chief judge’s office don’t make the best farm team for judges.
Comment by Original Rambler Wednesday, Nov 20, 24 @ 3:16 pm
@ Invisible Man
Thank you for your words, your honesty. You are absolutely right. The entire legal system fails when they have the change and dismissed it. From Judges down.
And Grandstanding? Some call it unGodly. I do too. Causing harm to others in order to be right is unGodly.
Comment by H-W Wednesday, Nov 20, 24 @ 4:09 pm
No disagreement on Judge Nowinski, but there are multiple variables at work.
There is too much political pressure placed upon judges, not to lock up individuals. “Mass incarceration” is a mantra among certain Illinois politicians. Another factor is the cost of detaining pretrial detainees and prisoners. In Cook County, the County Board President, the current State’s Attorney, and the Chief Judge of the Circuit Court have all advocated alternatives to locking people up.
Convicted individuals also usually only serve one half of their prison sentences. Almost everyone gets credit for good behavior which reduces their hard time.
There are no easy answers.
Comment by Gravitas Wednesday, Nov 20, 24 @ 4:23 pm