Tom Dart
The Reformer
Changing the system from inside it, principle turned into change.
Tom Dart is the Sheriff who seeks to reform the criminal justice system by addressing the underlying issues that lead to incarceration, particularly for those with mental health challenges. This interview reveals his commitment to creating a more compassionate and effective system that prioritizes rehabilitation over punishment.
“I probably was guilty of not giving it much thought. Yeah, I probably was. I don't want to say, oh, I was young, I was new. I'm, you know, not culpable. No, your thought as a prosecutor there to prosecute bad people. Some police department arrested this guy. You got the case. You know, let's move on.”
“Those are usually the outliers, but I often tell people the scandal ones are the ones in the middle, the ones that are there for stealing a car. I mean, what do you need? I mean, it's a foreign prosecutor. What do you need to prove your case? Nothing.”
“Because we don't care. I mean, there isn't any type of analysis done. I mean, there's like this Felton review, which is a screening process the prosecutors do, but that's for the most serious cases, you know, homicides, sexual assaults, things like that.”
“At the beginning, that I don't know how long we have this career, but why I'm there, we're going to push things, push them hard, and going to upset people, and that's going to be how life is.”
The Axe Files with David Axelrod — Ep. 14 - Sheriff Tom Dart
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