EDITORIAL OPINION – My brother was released from jail in 2021 during COVID because the government was worried he might become infected and die from COVID in jail. No matter what the road to good intentions was, my brother is now dead and it was not from COVID.
He was released from jail with significant mental health and drug issues with no support system just so that he might not get COVID. Instead the significant mental health and drug issues that were being treated at his prison were tossed aside and ignored so he could “survive” a pandemic that probably was never going to kill him.
So I really, really cannot express the disgust I feel for Jimmy Dimora receiving a commutation from President Biden because he was part of the same release program that my brother also “benefited” from.
Don’t get me wrong. My brother robbed 2 banks in Virginia. With a fake gun and a fedora, no less. You can look it up on the internet.
My brother committed very serious crimes. He also had very serious mental health and drug issues. It is not an excuse. My family was relieved when he went into the prison system. It was the closest we ever got to having him get the help he clearly needed. And then the Federal government released him from prison, 7 years into a 20 year sentence, with the misplaced goal to save his life from COVID. The Federal government ended up ending his life. His mental health and drug issues finally took him not long after his release.
So when I heard that Jimmy Dimora, the man who literally plundered and pillaged Southeast Cuyahoga County with his corruption, had his sentence commuted by President Biden because he had been released on the same program… I don’t have the proper, socially acceptable words to describe how I feel. Just know they involve many swear words and so much anger.
Yes, my brother did horrible, horrible things. He terrified around 40 strangers at the banks involved. Absolutely horrifying that he did that to those people.
Jimmy Dimora’s culture of government corruption hurt TENS OF THOUSANDS of people. My community and my surrounding communities are still reeling from the effects of Jimmy Dimora’s corrupt dealings. Bedford, Bedford Heights, Oakwood Village, Maple Heights, Garfield Heights and well beyond are experiencing a desperate change in mobility that can be tied directly to Jimmy Dimora’s influence on corruption in the Southeast region.
So my question is, why was Jimmy Dimoria’s sentence commuted while my brother died? If my brother was alive today, would President Biden have commuted his sentence too? I know 1,500 commutations seems like a lot. But the US prison system currently has nearly 2 million people in it. 1,500 commutations is a tiny drop in the bucket in comparison. To make the math easier, that is about 30 people per state. Which means Dear Mister Dimora was one of only approximately 30 people in Ohio to be pardoned by Biden.
I highly doubt that if my brother was alive today, he would have benefited like Jimmy Dimora has benefited from President Biden blanket commutation.
But I guess terrorizing 40 strangers (my brother) is a greater crime than decimating the the community and upward mobility of tens of thousands of his own neighbors and constituents (Jimmy Dimora).
<sarcasm font> Thank you, President Biden, for once again showing us who you care about. Party loyalty is rewarded for the sake of moving the party’s message forward, even if the person receiving it is corrupt and hurt their entire community. </sarcasm font>
My mentally ill brother obviously was not a real concern to the Biden Administration either during COVID or now. Forgiving party loyalists who hurt all of us with unadulterated corruption seems to be ok though. And that should be a concern for all of us.
