VICTOR JOECKS: When a crime burns up the narrative

If the races were reversed, Bethany MaGee would be as well-known as George Floyd.

MaGee, 26, was recently riding on the L train in Chicago. As she was sitting there, police believe Lawrence Reed, 50, came up behind her and dumped gasoline on her. Despite her attempt to flee, Reed set her on fire. She rolled on the ground in a vain attempt to put out the flames. When the train arrived at the station, she left the car while still being burned alive. Two Good Samaritans came to her aid, putting out the fire. She survived but suffered severe burns. She faces a long and daunting recovery.

Somehow this crime gets even more outrageous. Reed had been arrested 72 times. Yes, you read that correctly. Since 2016, he has been arrested more than 20 times. He previously pleaded guilty to nine felonies.

Just three months before this attack, Reed was in custody. At an August hearing, Assistant State’s Attorney Jerrilyn Gumila urged Cook County Judge Teresa Molina-Gonzalez to keep Reed behind bars. Gumila laid out how, three days before the hearing, Reed had knocked a social worker unconscious.

Electronic monitoring “could not protect the victim or the community from another vicious, random and spontaneous attack,” the prosecutor said.

“I understand your position, but I can’t keep everybody in jail because the state’s attorney wants me to,” Molina-Gonzalez said.

She released Reed with electronic monitoring. It didn’t stop him from allegedly setting MaGee on fire.

This should be a major national story for at least three reasons. First, the details of the crime are shocking and appalling. The victim is even an attractive young woman, which the propaganda press usually craves. Second, there’s a major scandal here. Police had a career criminal in custody. A judge let him go despite a prosecutor warning that he was a danger. Third, President Donald Trump has been sparring with Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson over the city’s safety. In October, Trump even sent the National Guard to Chicago.

A search of The New York Times website for “Bethany MaGee,” however, yielded zero results, as of last week. The Washington Post didn’t no mentions of her either. Days after it occurred, NBC Nightly News mentioned it but used the attack to take a swipe at Trump.

They’re silent because this crime doesn’t fit the left’s narrative. It wants you to believe that the criminal justice system is systemically racist against African Americans. What matters, according to this view, is someone’s group identity, not individual actions. That white Americans have special privilege.

This one case shows how laughable those claims are. Reed wasn’t jailed for being Black. He was coddled by the justice system despite dozens of arrests.

Critical race theory proponents lump people into groups based on their skin tone. They claim Black people are victims, while white people are oppressors. Their worldview requires believing that the woman who was set on fire was the oppressor. It’s easier to ignore this story than explain that absurdity.

MaGee’s skin color didn’t give her any special advantages on that train car. It didn’t protect Ukrainian immigrant Iryna Zarutska either, when Decarlos Brown Jr., authorities say, stabbed her. She didn’t have much privilege when most of her fellow passengers ignored her as she bled to death.

America’s criminal justice system has a systemic problem, but it isn’t white supremacy. It’s the judges and prosecutors who protect criminals instead of the public.

Victor Joecks’ column appears in the Opinion section each Sunday, Wednesday and Friday. Listen to him discuss his columns each Monday at noon with Kevin Wall on AM 670 KMZQ Right Talk. Contact him at vjoecks@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4698. Follow @victorjoecks on X.