Soft-on-crime policies sting federal bench after violent criminal kills woman upon release

While soft-on-crime district attorneys have gained negative attention in recent years, similar questions are now being directed at the bench after a judge appointed by President Joe Biden let a violent criminal off without bail before he brutally murdered a young college woman in the nation's capital.

Last week, 31-year-old Christy Bautista of Harrisonburg, Va., was killed at the Ivy City Hotel in Washington, D.C., where she was staying to attend a concert. Bautista, a 2018 graduate from James Madison University, was stabbed 30 times less than an hour after she checked in.

George Sydnor, Jr., 43, who had no fixed address, was arrested for Bautista's murder after police found him in her hotel room with blood on his hands and clothes as he tried to light a cigarette, authorities said. Sydnor was charged with first-degree murder and pleaded not guilty on Monday, where the judge ordered that he be held without bond.

Police and Bautista's family don't believe that Sydnor and his alleged victim knew each other. Surveillance footage at the hotel showed Sydnor arriving at the establishment about an hour after Bautista arrived in her car, which was parked outside her room. He listened at the door of Bautista’s room before entering. After he entered, Bautista opened the door and yelled for help before a man pulled her back inside the room.

In October, Sydnor was charged with armed robbery, which was reduced to an attempted robbery charge to which he pleaded guilty. He has a criminal history going back to 2000, as he was previously convicted of several felonies and misdemeanors such as rape, domestic violence, and armed robbery, according to media reports and court records.

Following his October arrest, a judge denied Sydnor bail because of his criminal history. However, D.C. Superior Court Judge Sean Staples, a Biden appointee, later took over Sydnor's case and released him from jail in January, according to court documents. Sydnor failed to appear for his subsequent court hearing, resulting in a warrant being issued for his arrest.

Sydnor appeared in court in Prince George's County in Maryland for a larceny charge after being released from D.C. jail. He stopped appearing for court appointments in that case, as well, and a warrant was issued for his arrest.

Mike Davis, Article III Project founder, told Just the News on Wednesday the tragedy in Washington was fresh proof of the consequence of "dangerous Democrat judges and prosecutors across America.

"Too many Democrat DAs take George Soros' funding, and these Democrat-appointed judges let violent criminals out of jail before their trials. This has deadly consequences and Judge Sean Staples has blood on his hands. He should resign. He has dangerously bad judgment, as the family of murdered Christy Bautista just learned the hard way."

Staples was nominated by Biden in July 2021 and was confirmed by the Senate in February 2022 with 38 Republicans voting against him.

During his confirmation hearing, Staples responded to a question from then-Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) about how the courts can work with prosecutors and law enforcement to reduce crime.

"I think the court and all of its partners in the criminal justice system are acutely about the rise of violent crime. But I can tell you, as a sitting judge, we have to look at these cases very, very carefully and decide them as fairly and as impartially as we can," he said.

A spokesperson for the D.C. courts explained Sydnor's release to Just the News on Thursday.

"Mr. Sydnor accepted a plea offer and Judge Staples intended to place him on [High Intensity Supervision Program] pending sentencing on 2/27/23. However, he was ineligible for [High Intensity Supervision Program] because of an outstanding extraditable warrant in Maryland.

"With no objection from either party and to effectuate the plea agreement that included a suspended sentence, Judge Staples decided (on 1/5/23) to release Mr. Sydnor in this case pending the fugitive process - a detainer was lodged and the defendant waived extradition.

"Judge Staples explained to Mr. Sydnor that either Maryland would pick him up and he would be ordered to be brought back to DCSC if released by the Maryland court. Or, if he was not picked up and consequently released, he was ordered to appear back in his courtroom the next day," the court explained.

"Maryland authorities seemingly did not pick up Mr. Sydnor, and he failed to appear."

The release of violent criminals by soft-on-crime judges was an issue raised during the Wisconsin Supreme Court justice race that ended Tuesday with liberal Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Janet Protasiewicz claiming victory, ensuring a liberal majority on the court.

Protasiewicz has been "a soft-on-crime judge in cases that are shocking to the conscience," according to Wisconsin Republican Party Chairman Brian Schimming.

She "was a soft-on-crime assistant district attorney … under sitting Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm, the one who allowed, essentially, the Waukesha parade killer to go out and be on the streets," Schimming told the "Just the News, No Noise" TV show.

After Darrell Brooks, Jr. plowed his SUV into the Waukesha Christmas parade and killed six people in 2021, it was revealed that he was, on the recommendation of Chisholm's office, released from prison on $1,000 bail following his arrest for domestic abuse and eluding police. Chisholm, a Soros-backed prosecutor, later admitted that his office had set the bail amount "inappropriately low" for Brooks.

During Protasiewicz's time on the bench, she has given lenient sentences to multiple violent criminals who have reoffended in felony cases involving violence against women and sex crimes against children.

In his 2021 bid to become Manhattan District Attorney, Alvin Bragg, who convened the grand jury that indicted former President Donald Trump, received support for his campaign from a political action committee backed by Soros. While Bragg has focused his efforts on prosecuting Trump and turning misdemeanor charges into felonies, he downgraded half of his felony cases to misdemeanors last year, and violent crimes increased in New York City on his watch.

The liberal mega-donor contributed to the campaign of former St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, who was fired by Missouri Republican Attorney General Andrew Bailey earlier this year. Gardner had a track record of not prosecuting crimes, Bailey said, and was "creating" victims "[i]nstead of protecting" them.

Gardner was accused of "disturbing and unethical" behavior by a grand jury last year after she admitted to prosecutorial misconduct in her case against former Missouri GOP Gov. Eric Greitens.