Long before Deobra Redden became a social media household name, he was an object lesson in the left’s failed approach to “criminal justice.”
Redden, as you may have heard/seen, is the man who attacked a judge in Las Vegas after he was sentenced to jail time on Wednesday.
He was described in numerous news reports as a “three-time felon” — which doesn’t quite capture the scope of his history with law enforcement officials. Or, for that matter, even the judge he attacked, Mary Kay Holthus.
Redden was in court this time for a charge of attempted battery with substantial bodily harm. However, his criminal history began over a decade ago, in 2012.
That’s when, according to KLAS-TV in Las Vegas, he was first convicted of a crime — assault causing bodily injury to a family member. That netted him 45 days behind bars and a fine.
The next year, Redden faced no less than three convictions for domestic battery. That netted him two months in jail, a fine and anger management classes.
Then, in 2014, he was convicted of attempted theft, which garnered him probation. That, incidentally, is the sentence Redden’s lawyer was looking for in court on Wednesday for his client. I want you to keep that in mind, because he violated probation several times during his 2014 conviction before entering a mental health program.
“While on probation, Redden was twice convicted of domestic battery, tampered with his alcohol monitoring bracelet and violated other terms, documents said,” KLAS reported.
“He was also charged with kicking a police officer in the knee.”
Should prosecutors throw the book at Deobra Redden?
Move forward to 2018, when Redden was convicted of battery with substantial bodily harm after biting a woman and breaking a man’s car window with a rock. He got probation again in that case; this time, he was honorably discharged in 2020 and 2021 by a judge.
It wasn’t long before Redden was back in the system.
“In 2021, Redden was convicted again for domestic battery,” KLAS reported. “In that case, a different judge sentenced Redden to prison for a term of 12-30 months. A board granted Redden parole in 2022.
“Also in 2021, police charged Redden with attempted home invasion and destroying the property of another person, documents said. It was unclear if Redden’s arrest for these charges happened before he was remanded into custody.”
Then, in January 2023, Redden appeared in court on the 2021 charges — before none other than Judge Holthus. He was released without bail and sentenced to a year of probation after pleading guilty.
In October, he violated his probation (again) and was sentenced to 106 days in jail by Holthus. KLAS noted that it “was unclear why Redden was released before the Jan. 3 incident or if he even served any of the jail time.”
Documents also stated that on April 23, Redden allegedly “[threatened] to bust the kneecaps” of another man with a baseball bat. In May, he was committed to a state mental health facility after a different judge demanded a competency evaluation for him. In October, he was found competent to stand trial.
He pleaded guilty in November, and a bench warrant for his arrest was issued by Holthus in December after he missed a court appearance.
That brings us to Wednesday, when Redden was in court explaining to the judge why he should receive probation again despite the fact he has a history of probation violations.
“Basically, I would like to tell the courts and everyone here, based on my criminal history, I feel that like I shouldn’t be sent to prison for a sentence time,” Redden told Holthus.
“I’m in a better place in my mind, in my mental health, I have a support system, I just got hired a Teamster for the union, making $20 an hour,” he continued.
“The reason behind every single domestic violence, I’ve been dealing with mental health, and I didn’t know that I was dealing with mental health and they put me in mental health court and I still didn’t know that I had mental health problem …
“I feel like I shouldn’t be sent to prison, but if it’s appropriate, then you have to do what you have to do.”
Then it became clear that Holthus was going to sentence him to prison, with the judge telling his attorney that she thought “it’s time he got a taste of something else.”
On the uncensored video, Redden can be heard yelling, “Nah, f*** that, b****!” before launching at Holthus.
WARNING: The following video contains violence that some viewers may find disturbing.
WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT
Clark County Judge Mary Kay Holthus was about to levy her sentencing decision for convicted felon Deobra Redden when he ran up to the bench and jumped over furniture to assault her in this dramatic courtroom video pic.twitter.com/rfCU03Mvft— Reuters (@Reuters) January 4, 2024
Clearly in a better place mentally, ready to accept the judge’s decision if she did “what you have to do.”
Redden was wrangled off of Holthus by others in the courtroom. It’s worth noting, as The Associated Press did, that he wasn’t in shackles because of the deal he’d reached with prosecutors, despite the fact he has a long, documented history of attacking people who have somehow irked him.
“It happened so fast it was hard to know what to do,” said Richard Scow, the chief Clark County district attorney in the case. Meanwhile, Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson noted that Redden has “been violent his entire adult life.”
Which raises the question, why was probation even an option for him? Here was a demonstrably violent man with a history of blatant recidivism trying to talk his way out of prison without shackles or jail garb on launching at a defenseless judge who, thankfully, didn’t receive major injuries.
Yes, he’s a “three-time felon,” but that doesn’t tell the whole story. There are also a whole slew of other misdemeanors, gross misdemeanors and domestic violence charges. He’s a man who’s been in and out of the criminal justice system for the entirety of his adult life and doesn’t seem to show any signs of stopping.
And here he was, before the same judge who let him off with no bail and a year of probation a year before, begging for probation again.
Remember, when you hear liberals talk about “bail reform” or “criminal justice reform,” what they mean is treating men like Redden with kid gloves. Oh, he has a mental health issue. He has a job now.
It’s a bit like “Gee, Officer Krupke” — he was depraved on account of him being deprived! He’s got a union gig, which means he’ll be able to get some of that sweet, sweet equity. Unless you sentence him to prison, then he’s gonna charge the bench. Mental health issues, you understand.
Granted, Clark County isn’t exactly hippie central, which is why he didn’t just get probation and why prosecutors are going to throw the book at him now, in addition to the 19 to 48 months of prison they had already requested for the charge he was in there on. (That sentencing has been rescheduled to Monday for obvious reasons.)
That being said, it’s worth wondering why he hadn’t served longer prison sentences to begin with, given his appalling history.
Keep in mind, too, that in places like New York City, there are individuals who have committed over 130 crimes and still get released without bail because, well, that’s how the system works. And that’s how progressives want it to work everywhere in America for people just like Deobra Redden.
As for the judge-attacking felon, he was back in court on Thursday on his new charges, which include six felonies and seven gross misdemeanors, according to the New York Post.
His reasoning? He had a “bad day.”
Some things — and some people — never change. America needs a penal system that reflects that.
