First off let me say at the outset that what happened to Jennifer Angel was tragic and a complete senseless and I offer my sincerest condolences to her friends and family.

So, who was Jennifer Angel, well she was a California baker, who regarded herself as an anarchist and social justice advocate and was the victim of a brutal theft which resulted in her death. Family and friends don't want the criminals who are linked to her death to be prosecuted because that would allegedly go against the woman's values.

Jennifer had gone to a Wells Fargo bank branch in Oakland on Monday February 6th in afternoon, and according to her fiancé Ocean Mottley, recounting what happened to the San Francisco Chronicle, he stated a car pulled in front of her vehicle and blocked her from leaving.

A spokesperson with the Oakland Police Department confirmed that around 12:30 p.m., "an individual broke into" Angel’s car while she was in it and stole an item, then ran back "to a waiting vehicle."

Jennifer then chased after the thief and got caught in the door of the fleeing car. This resulted in her reportedly being dragged down the street for more than 50 feet, hitting her head several times.

Jennifer was rushed to Highland Hospital, where she was put into a medically-induced coma, underwent emergency surgery, and part of her skull was removed to help with severe swelling in her brain.

Jennifer died from the injuries sustained in the robbery on Thursday February 9th. Family and friends of Angel issued a statement.

"It's with very heavy hearts that we announce that Oakland baker, small business owner, social justice activist, and community member Jen Angel has been medically declared to have lost all brain function and will not regain consciousness. Her official time of death was 5:48 p.m.," the statement began.

The family and friends said, "We know Jen would not want to continue the cycle of harm by bringing state-sanctioned violence to those involved in her death or to other members of Oakland’s rich community. As a long-time social movement activist and anarchist, Jen did not believe in state violence, carceral punishment, or incarceration as an effective or just solution to social violence and inequity."

The statement said that Angel "worked toward an ecologically sustainable" society, where "people are free and equal."

The friends and family proclaimed that the criminals involved in Jennifer's death should not be prosecuted.

"If the Oakland Police Department does make an arrest in this case, the family is committed to pursuing all available alternatives to traditional prosecution, such as restorative justice," the statement declared.

The family and friends said that Jennifer's death should not be used to "further inflame narratives of fear, hatred, and vengeance, nor to advance putting public resources into policing, incarceration, or other state violence that perpetuates the cycles of violence that resulted in this tragedy."

Angel's friend Emily Harris told KGO-TV, "We are really trying to orient towards her brilliant life, and that actually, she is not a person who would support the policing and imprisonment of the people who harmed her."

"Feels like absolutely an opportunity to stand in her values, and support the world that she wants," Harris said. "By actually showing that something different than actual policing and prosecution is possible, and is how we can have accountability."

I’ve got a few thoughts I would like to leave you with about this story. First off according to the story, Jennifer was a self-described social justice advocate, who if were to speculate certainly believed in the notion of systemic racism. Given her belief in restorative justice, I don’t think I would be going out on a limb to say she believed that those committing crimes were themselves victims in some way and that there was some justification for their actions, given the systemic injustice they had been subjected to.
So if indeed these were her beliefs, then why did she chase after the thief as detailed by the police. I mean after all how valuable could that item the thief have stolen be, certainly not worth risking her life over right? I mean she could have simply done nothing and just let the thief be on his way, I mean obviously he needed the item more than she did. Yet in spite of her professed belief system, she still chased him, why? I would humbly submit that regardless of her outward statements, deep down she knew what the thief had done was wrong, regardless of the justification for doing so! Of course, you and I will never know as all we can do is speculate.

Lastly while I can appreciate what her friends believed she would have liked to have done to the criminal who did this to her, if and should he be caught, but why should the rest of society have to potentially pay for her ideology. Who’s to say that the form of justice preferred by the family would serve as any kind of deterrent either to the criminal who basically murdered her or to any other potential offenders. After all it’s not like this these alternatives to traditional prosecution, such as restorative justice and alike aren’t being tried in progressive leftist cities, especially cities in California, have these non-traditional polices reduced crime, not according to the statistics.

This story is a sad reminder that while folks like Jennifer may believe their ideology is progressive, humane, loving and equitable in terms of dispensing justice, in the real world it ultimately has consequences, sadly more often than not, tragic ones! Leaving the rest of us to pick up the pieces!