About that guy the judge released who burned up the woman on the El?

Did Bill get this wrong. Perhaps the judge had little discretion. Did a little digging into the facts:

ClaudAi

Yes, Judge Molina-Gonzalez did have judicial latitude in this case, though the decision has sparked intense criticism.

On August 22, Judge Teresa Molina-Gonzalez denied prosecutors' request to keep Lawrence Reed detained in jail, instead placing him on electronic monitoring CWB Chicago. Under Illinois' SAFE-T Act, which eliminated cash bail, judges have discretion to decide if someone is detained based on whether they're a flight risk or threat to public safety CBS News.

During the hearing, the prosecutor warned that electronic monitoring couldn't protect the victim or community from another unprovoked attack, and a court officer flagged Reed with a risk score of four out of six for committing new crimes, with any new offense likely to be violent CWB Chicago. The prosecutor had shown the judge video of Reed knocking a social worker unconscious in a psychiatric ward and detailed his extensive criminal history, including prior arson.

When the prosecutor objected to release, Judge Molina-Gonzalez responded: "I can't keep everybody in jail because the State's Attorney wants me to" CWB Chicago. She did have the legal authority to order detention but chose not to exercise it.

The system failures extended beyond the initial release decision. Reed violated his electronic monitoring curfew extensively before the attack, with the first violation alert at 9:13 a.m. on the day of the attack and escalated alerts following, including one three hours after the woman was set on fire Chicago Tribune.

So while the judge had discretion under the SAFE-T Act framework, the question is whether she appropriately exercised that discretion given the evidence presented about Reed's danger to public safety.