(Chuck Muth) – My friend arrived at our house for Christmas dinner with a black eye that even a herculean effort to cover with makeup couldn’t hide.

“Nancy” (not her real name) had been brutally punched in the face by her former live-in boyfriend – we’ll call him “Sid” – three weeks earlier.

She had to have surgery in January to repair an eyeball fracture and to this day has nerve damage and no feeling on the right side of her face.

Sid was given a short 60-day jail sentence for the attack.  He got out early at the end of January and that’s when this story went from bad to worse – and why I’m now on a full-blown crusade to fight the insanely dangerous movement to “end cash bail.”

But before getting to “the rest of the story,” let’s take a quick look at Sid’s criminal background…

• Drug possession and trafficking
• Burglary
• Grand larceny
• Auto theft
• Embezzlement
• Driving with a suspended license
• Drawing a deadly weapon in a threatening manner
• Possession of a firearm with serial number removed
• Identity theft
• Credit card and unemployment fraud
• Running a forgery lab
• Assault with a deadly weapon
• Battery
• Domestic battery (multiple incidents)
• Domestic battery by strangulation
• Coercion with force
• Aggravated stalking
• TPO (temporary protective order) violations (multiple)

Overall, it’s estimated that Sid has been arrested on more than 100 charges over the last 15 or so years.  So we’re not exactly talking about a Boy Scout here.  Those aren’t merit badges.

Now, to be fair, he obviously wasn’t convicted on every charge.  Some charges were dropped.  Some were dismissed.  Some were reduced in plea bargaining.  On the other hand, it’s also fair to assume he’s committed a boatload of other crimes for which he was never caught.

In addition, again to be fair, my friend Nancy, a thirty-something young woman, isn’t exactly a nun.  She had her own brushes with the law a few years ago.  However…

When given a “second chance” by the court to get her act together, she did.  She entered a drug diversion program, sought counseling, got a new job and went back to school.  In fact, if all goes well, she’s on track to graduate with a PhD from UNLV in May.

Sid, on the other hand, has blown every “second chance” he’s ever been given.

In fact, he served time in federal prison for an earlier domestic violence incident with another woman four years ago, the details of which were eerily prescient and, as Nancy put it, “incredibly haunting.”

More on that coming up in Part II.  Don’t touch that dial!.

Mr. Muth is president Citizen Outreach a non-profit grassroots advocacy organization.  You can get free updates and breaking news on this issue by going to: stopcatchandrelease.com