Curtis Bernard Harris had a long history of violent, abusive, criminal behavior, including twice seizing his estranged wife and terrorizing her, says the Los Angeles Times. Still, a judge in Pomona, Ca., released him from jail last month, allowing him to tie up any loose ends before being sentenced to prison in the most recent case. The judge freed him even though the Los Angeles County Probation Department said he was “unsuitable for release.”
On Saturday, a maid cleaning a motel room found the bodies of Harris, 34, and his wife, 37. Harris apparently shot and killed his wife before turning the gun on himself. The deaths raised questions about Harris’ being freed on his own recognizance — a decision by Superior Court Judge Tia Fisher that was not opposed by prosecutors. “These deaths were sadly predictable,” said Katie Buckland of the California Women’s Law Center. “This is the classic cycle of intimate partner violence. To say the least, it was irresponsible of the judge, and particularly the prosecutors, to allow Curtis Harris to be released without bail for any reason.”
Link: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-homicide8jan08,1,6090330.story?coll=la-headlines-california