Seattle Judge Veronica Galván faces criticism after releasing an armed robbery suspect, Millorz J. Canales, weeks before he allegedly committed a brutal attack on a 14-year-old rival gang member. Critics argue this decision, along with others by the judge, reflects a troubling pattern of leniency that endangers public safety.
Canales, a 17-year-old reputed member of the Norteño gang, was charged with assault, kidnapping, and robbery after a Dec. 17 attack in Lions Park, Everett. Prosecutors allege Canales and an accomplice lured a 14-year-old South Side Locos associate to the park, where he was tied to a tree, stabbed eight times, disemboweled, and marked with a gang symbol. Surveillance footage captured the attack, and police later found blood-stained clothing at Canales’ residence.
On Nov. 15, Canales was arrested for an alleged gang-related armed robbery in Seattle. Despite objections from the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, Judge Galván released him without bail on Dec. 2. He was awaiting trial when the attack occurred.
Judge Galván has been criticized for prioritizing rehabilitation over incarceration. In earlier cases, she released brothers aged 12 and 13 accused of stealing a car using a ghost gun and leading police on a high-speed chase. In another instance, she ordered electronic home monitoring for teens who allegedly menaced paradegoers with modified automatic firearms.
Galván defends her approach, asserting that incarceration fails to deter criminal behavior. “This is going to take a lot more than just throwing people in and locking them up without a key,” she said, emphasizing the importance of community support programs.
Jason Rantz, a conservative talk show host, argues that Galván’s decisions reflect an ideological bias prioritizing social justice over public safety. He warned that such policies are not unique to Galván but are prevalent across Washington state. He linked the trend to the 2020 Black Lives Matter movement, during which calls to “dismantle the criminal justice system” gained traction among progressive lawmakers and judges.
Galván, appointed by Democratic Governor Jay Inslee in 2014, has run unopposed for re-election since then. Rantz criticized local Republicans for failing to challenge progressive judicial appointments, stating, “You’re either going to try to get the best of the best to step up and run for these positions, or you’re going to continue to see what we’ve been seeing.”
As violent crimes linked to judicial leniency gain attention, the debate over criminal justice reform continues to intensify, with many questioning the balance between rehabilitation and public safety.