Abdul Saleh died because progressives insist on springing violent perps

Progressives’ refusal to lock up violent criminals is still slaughtering innocent New Yorkers — including ones living the American Dream, like East Village deli worker Abdul Saleh. This cold-blooded killing, allegedly by violent thug Kavone Horton, made a news splash for two reasons. First: Saleh spoke to a TV reporter a year ago about the dangers he and others in local retail face: “People get shot, killed,” he told WABC last May.“Sometimes you get robbed and the police never respond quick, come three or four hours late.” A picture, in other words, of an NYPD hobbled by laws designed to make it easier for crooks to ply their trade — though Commissioner Jessica Tisch is leading it to real success despite those lefty-written laws.Second: Horton’s rap sheet was a mile long, including a recent history of harassing customers in Saleh’s store. The alleged murderer was caught up in a major 2016 gang bust overseen by then-Southern District US Attorney Preet Bharara.But actually keeping Horton off the streets is another matter: He got released on time served plus an agreement to enter substance-abuse counseling and testing. This, for being a soldier in a gang war that saw a 15-year-old stabbed and a 92-year-old woman killed by a stray bullet inside her own home.With nearly a dozen arrests in total, Horton remained on the streets — exactly as progressive “criminal-justice reformers” desire.Subscribe to our daily Post Opinion newsletter! Please provide a valid email.

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Consider: Guy Rivera, who killed hero officer Jonathan Diller, just got a sentence of 115 years to life — yet could get sprung in just 19 years if progs manage to pass their Elder Parole bill in the Legislature, overriding all sentences to let even hardened crooks walk free once they turn 54. As it is, the state Parole Board, packed with soft-on...