Dear New York: Please Make Subway 'Grinding' a Felony. Now.

The New York City subway system got a little less safe earlier this month when Darnell Hardware, indicted last summer on three felony charges of sexual abuse, was reportedly set free on probation. Hardware's crime, as described by the Manhattan district attorney, is a rather unsettling one for transit riders throughout the city (if not humanity in general):

The injustice of the decision is surpassed only by the injustice of the precedent that caused it. That ruling occurred in March during the case of one Jason Mack, who committed a similar act of "subway grinding" back in 2002. The complete brief on Mack's deed can be read here (via Gothamist), but here's a summary from the New York Court of Appeals, the state's highest legal authority — again, be forewarned, it's disturbing [PDF]: