Tuesday, 23 October 2012 The Honorable Lynn Liebovitz District of Columbia Superior Court Moultrie Courthouse 500 Indiana

Avenue NW Washington, DC 20001 Re: CCCA Community Impact Statement for Deangelo Marcus Jones Dear Judge Liebovitz: What follows is the community impact statement for the 26 October Sentencing Hearing in your courtroom for Deangelo Marcus Jones. Although Deangelo Jones has been taken out of our community, his absence will only create a vacuum and trigger more violent acts unless you send a message to his fellow criminals in the Shaw community by giving him the maximum sentence available and end the revolving door effect that simply pushes hardened criminal into our community without any change in their behavior patterns. Deangelo Jones has recently been charged for various violent and menacing offenses related to a shooting at the basketball courts at 11th Street and Rhode Island Ave NW. These basketball courts are adjacent to a popular skateboard park, a ball field and dog park which have become wonderful amenities for our community. The spectre of violence diminishes the ability of local residents and visitors to enjoy these amenities. Among other residential homes, there is also a womens shelter that serves several vulnerable senior women in the community. No one should live in fear of violence when they walk the streets near their home. The children who use these public facilities should not have their childhoods scarred by memories of shootings and violence that sadly give them a nightmarish view of the world that is unsafe and life threatening. Over the years, our community association in partnership with other groups have worked hard to do everything possible to make our community clean and safe for all residents and visitors. We need you to help us in this effort by keeping violent repeat offenders off our streets. Sadly, as several District elected officials and their associates have recently shown, some people prefer to commit crimes that harm others even at risk of endangering their own lives even though they would surely have a better quality of life if they chose a different path. Some of these criminals and their advocates have claimed over the years that they resort to crime because they have no other options; that is a lie and a delusion. Although I hope Deangelo Jones never qualifies for parole and probation or community service to restore the damage he has done, when you do consider program options that return such criminals to our streets, I hope that those programs include picking up trash and keeping the weeds down at our local recreation centers, parks and libraries. Such neglected and blighted areas send a signal to criminals that no one is watching and they are welcome to engage in nefarious activities that destroy communities and ultimately the lives of those who engage in them. We hope that you will also address the sad reality that nearly two thirds of those incarcerated for crimes in the District of Columbia tend to re-offend, according to DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, who has headed the DC Council committee on the Judiciary and Public Safety. Your colleagues in the correctional system must do more to make sure that those incarcerated receive meaningful rehabilitation services. To this end, I would suggest that you push to make incarceration more like a military training school, giving prisoners the option of a meaningful and rigorous academic and skills training so that they are less likely of falling behind in school and/or in gaining the valuable trade skills that are essential in pursuing a productive life when they are released. In such a scenario, it should be clearly noted and made a part of their permanent record if they choose to participate or refuse such education or training. This information should be available to court officials and future potential employers for hiring purposes. Thank you. Convention Center Community Association CC: DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson