On Bail Reform, Property Loss, and Fires

The Leonard family home, owned by my dad Bruce and his wife Debi (Deborah), was sold in May 2022 for a grand total of $20,000. Many were surprised at the sale, the condition of the house being so dilapidated. It was sold for taxes. So much was owed that we ended up in the negative on the deal. Our real estate attorney didn't get paid, and the real estate agents representing buyer and seller split the commission of $2,000. 

Why did we bother with selling to get nothing out of it? Because my father's integrity is just that solid. He owed the village, the county, and the school district, and the only way he could pay up was to liquidate the only property of value that he had. None of the family had the funds to continue paying the taxes on the home while the owners were incarcerated. Personally, I made the executive decision that the house should not be my father's to return to when he is released. The option shouldn't even exist. He had a difficult time making the decision to sell; it was the family home. He hoped that a little profit would be realized from the sale, but I think he was remembering the house in a far more optimistic light than it deserved.

Not only were taxes owed, but the law of entropy would dictate the vacant structure would become more and more problematic as time passed. A couple years ago, a village resident filed a complaint with the board, claiming that rats were seen coming from the property. The board tried to contact the owners, which proved difficult, even though Debi had been released by then. I received word of the situation and was looped in on the communications. The board was threatening fines for each day that the pest problem went unaddressed. I couldn't accept that additional punishment was going to pile up on my father, so I agreed to work toward satisfying the board's requirements. Vandals had smashed a few windows, which needed to be covered. And the rat problem needed a real solution. Conveniently, the village mayor at the time owned an extermination company. She set traps in all the professional locations outside the house, and I gave her a check. No rats were caught. At all. But the situation demonstrated the general tenor of sentiment within the community. The house was an eyesore and a reminder of a horrible crime.

I didn't really know what the buyer in May had in mind to do with the place. Before the closing, we had retrieved a few trips' worth of personal belongings, including some family heirloom pieces. But the house was full of junk. Dad's office was filled with old books... and memories. Each bedroom contained each family member's personality, mementos of what they held important. Every time I went into the house, I felt all kinds of ways. Angry. Disgusted. Grieved. And even a little nostalgic. I lived there. I spent important, formative teen years there. 

And now the house is for sale again. This time the price is $48,000 or best offer. The new owner cleared out most of the junk, based on the pictures posted with the Facebook Marketplace listing. He left the 8-year-old Pantene bottles in the shower. He left baskets of cooking pans on the stove. The fridge is still there - I wonder if he opened it. We opened it during one of our last times in the house. That was a mistake. A sarcophagus of horrors. I'm curious what the basement and attic look like. I'm curious what the public believes to have been the reason the house was full of junk. Knowledge is power, so I'm going to empower you.

I imagine some people (many?) are judge-y, confidently declaring, "I would never let my house look like that!" Well, hold your stones, folks. Let's dissect a little, shall we? Scientifically. Usually, the woman of the house is burdened with keeping the house. Let me tell you a little about Debi. In high school, she suffered a head injury, which her doctor said could very well come back to haunt her. She fell victim to a high demand, authoritarian cult during an extremely vulnerable time in her life as she was abandoned by her first husband soon after the loss of her infant son. Her brother, Rick, became involved with the same cult, so now she had natural family connection and a church family to help her get on her feet as a single mom. The apartment she had with her two children was neatly kept. Then in the early 90s, the cult leader decided Debi should marry newly divorced Bruce. The two households merged into a two-bedroom apartment.

A year later, we were able to breathe again when we moved to the huge house in Clayville. We had space. A place for everything, and everything in its place. Hopes and dreams, talk of remodeling here and there. But then Jerry Irwin returned from Rochester and brought a smothering oppression, stifling the plans of families and individuals. There was work to be done! Work at the church! Work for the Irwins! God first! Family second. Well, second after the church, which was God, except when you were home - and then God was first in the home, in whatever way Jerry defined it. Whether that meant reading the Bible for a set amount of time, and praying for a set time, or completing the chores in your own house that Jerry said you had to get done. 

I believe the oppressive control that crept into the homes of members contributed greatly to Debi's depression and lack of focus. We had less and less time to tend to our own needs, as the Irwins demanded more and more of our time for themselves. And with that loss of time came an increase in time needed. Luke was born in 1995, then 3 more kids. And then Sarah returned home with her 4 kids. A house full of 11 people requires full time care. Toward the end, no one had more than 20 minutes in a given day for themselves. The Irwins dictated how every. single. moment was to be spent. So, yes, it was bad. But the bad condition of the house is a reflection of the horrible abuse the Irwins were committing. 

Back to the resale of the family home. I look at the pictures of the emptied rooms and feel empty myself. It hurts. The Irwins stole so much. So much. But I also want to look beyond our personal situation and consider how the loss of the house and personal property is a plague caused by our society's carceral system. When my father and Debi were arrested and detained on October 12, 2015, the house was left vacant. Initially, horror gripped the community as pets were found amid the awful conditions of the house. The stench was overwhelming. Where did anyone sleep? How could anyone eat? 

Bail was set for Dad and Debi at $100,000 each. They were charged with killing their son. Obviously, no one had that kind of money, so there they sat. In Oneida County Correctional Facility. Until each case was resolved. Dad pleaded (pled?*) guilty at the end of June 2016. He was sentenced in February 2017. It took a couple months to communicate a prison sentence to the Social Security Administration, but by then his savings account had all but been depleted by his former POA. A few more vehicle loan payments were withdrawn, but there was no more money to pay taxes. *Chicago Manual of Style says to avoid "pled" even though it sounds right.

What does this mean for the community where these now incarcerated individuals used to contribute? The consequences cast a wide ripple. So, let's consider the recent instances of arson in New Hartford. A friend alerted me to the news of a fire at the former Word of Life building on Sunday night. I must admit a sense of elation at what felt like sweet karma. (If the current owner wasn't going to follow through with her stated plans, why not let it burn down? Perhaps it was Luke's lightning that set the fire...) Within 24 hours, New Hartford PD released the news that they had arrested the same man suspected of setting the two fires in December, for which he was charged with two counts of third degree arson - which basically means a fire was set in a vacant building. The building at 3354 Oneida St isn't going to burn down. It's brick and mortar. The contents can burn, sure. But the place isn't falling down. Reality evacuated the wind from my sails and rained on my parade. Oh well. But here's the thing: the online chatter is all about how bail reform failed us by allowing the arsonist to strike again. Let's dive into that for a minute.

It's not difficult to find a list of crimes that are eligible for bail under the new law. 1st and 2nd degree arson are bail-eligible, as these involve risk to human life - meaning the structure that was set ablaze was occupied. 3rd degree arson is not eligible for bail. So, the suspect was released on his own recognizance after the arrest for the first two fires. Why should anyone be released after any kind of crime? Well, I kinda just gave a few examples. In this country, the burden of proof rests with the prosecution - you know, innocent until proven guilty. What if Mark Palmano is NOT the arsonist? Are we really ok with going around ruining people's lives because we fear that anyone and everyone is going to commit violent crimes against us? Mr. Palmano is now detained because the law says if someone is charged with a felony when other felony charges are pending, well, now they've done it. Now, they can be detained and maybe be eligible for bail. But what if Palmano didn't set the fire at the WLCC building? Now, because he is detained, he will lose his job, and maybe his home (unless someone else continues paying). And, sure, I know there is chatter that the guy is mentally unstable. And he does have a prior record. But my point is that bail reform IS necessary. Has NY done a good job at it so far? Meh, it could have been better - especially a better job of explaining to the public what it is all about rather than allowing law enforcement folks to dictate the narrative. Other states have done better. But like the NYCLU says, "a person's wealth should not determine their liberty." https://www.nyclu.org/en/campaigns/facts-bail-reform And the default pre-trial detention easily does more harm than good - to the individual, to their family, to their community, to the economic status of the county and state. It seems we are eager to point out the failures because they are so visible without considering the harm that remains largely hidden.

The American carceral system must end. Abolition is creative. Abolition is the future. We cannot continue the punitive excess. We must discover the causes of crime and put an end to the systemic racism and poverty that lie at the root. We can even scale back the penal code by reassessing what we define as crime. https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/crime-myth

Build communities. Decriminalize. Decarcerate. Rehabilitate.

My father lost his son. My father lost his home and most of its contents. He lost his license and other identifying documents. But he will never lose his integrity. 

[Lost? Or had stolen.] 

My father's son was stolen, destroyed. My father's other children were stolen. My father's home and its contents were stolen. His documents were stolen. But his integrity cannot be stolen.