For a while I have been meaning to create a post to record the on-going sad state of affairs in our judicial system. Between the DJ and mainly the Daily Post, we get a weekly barrage of news pieces that cause one to ask, “what the heck was the judge thinking?” This one finally lit my fuse enough to create it.

The Daily Post is reporting a 50-year-old guy from Berkeley was arrested in Palo Alto for setting fire to St. Frank Coffee Shop’s awning at 1:45 am. A review of security footage spotted him and then he returned to the scene about 40 minutes later chanting “burn, burn let it burn”. Here’s the kicker:

He as a recent arson conviction in Contra Costa County according to the DA. He remains in jail on felony arson with bail at $2,500!

Why was he out in the first place? What was that first judge thinking? And what is the second judge thinking setting bail at $2,500? What’s next? He pleads poverty and they go to “no cash bail”? We have had crazies like this in B’game. Ten years ago, we almost lost our historic train station to one as you can read here. That was before the Caltrain employee decided to turn that space into his own personal apartment on our nickel.