Dear tumblr, have we heard about the sweeping reforms announced by the new LA DA?? Because I read a thread by the guy this morning that actually made me weep.
Here it is if you havenât seen it yet:
Transcription from a tweet thread from George GascĂłn, the new DA of Los Angeles:
For decades we attached felony consequences to low-level offenses. It foreclosed job and housing opportunities exacerbated recidivism, crime and homelessness, and created more victims. We must desgin a system that actually listens to, protects, and restores victims. Beginning immediately, victims will no longer be required to testify to receive victim services. And this office will extend victim services to families of those killed by law enforcement.
I have already pledged to re-open four fatal officer-involved shootings. My office will no convene a Use of Force Review Board to review fatal use of force in cases dating back to at leasat 2012. We must hold police accountable to restore trust in law enforcement.
Forty years ago I walked my first beat as a young police officer. Today, I was sword in as the 43rd District Attorney of Los Angeles. I am not the same man I was when I first put on the uniform. One of the many reasons for that is because of situations I faced as a young officerâsituations and experiences that have stayed with me and that continue to shape my approach to this work. Those experiences taught me the criminal justice system is fundamentally broken. Today, we will usher in a new era of criminal justice and transform the largest criminal justice jurisdiction in America.
The money bail system is as unsafe as it is unjust. Money is a terrible proxy for risk posed to society. So today we will end cash bail for any misdemeanor, non-serious or non-violent felony offense. And I will end bail completely January 1.
The pursuit of justice is timeless and thatâs why these policies will be applied retroactively. At least 20,000 people currently incarcerated in prison will now be eligible for consideration for resentencing. This will save California BILLIONS of dollars. At least 50% of all persons sentenced to state prison from LA are rated low-risk reoffend by prison officials. 95% of individuals who have served twenty years or more are rated low-risk to reoffend. These excessive sentences are NOT making us safer. My office will prioritize consideration for people convicted of nonviolent crimes, those deemed low risk for release, people with demonstrated records of rehabilitation, older individuals, people who are especially at risk for COVID-19, and people sentenced adult prison terms as children. The resentencing process will be a significant undertaking and will include input from victims and victim advocates. The Amity Foundation, in partinership with the Returning Home Well initiative, have promised to assist everyone resentenced.
There are currently 215 people on Californiaâs death row from LA County alone. An astonishing 85% of them are people of color. The death penalty does not make us safer. Itâs racist, morally untenable, irreversible, and expensive. And today, itâs off the table.
In the 80s and 90s, America defunded public housing and mental health. We turned public health problems into criminal onesâthe results were disastrous. Now, we will begin diverting first time low-level misdemeanors into service instead of criminalizing homelessness and poverty. Experts estimate that hundreds of individuals behind bars today will be eligible to be freed tomorrow under this new pretrial release policy.
Enhancements, a legacy of âtough-on-crimeâ era, are a principal driver of excessive sentences and mass incarceration. California enacted over one hundred enhancements which are outdated, incoherent, and applied unfairly. To end mass incarceration in LA we will cease filing ALL enhancements. Californiaâs 1994 Three Strikes Law has been a disaster. in 1980 California had a prison population of ~23,000. In 1990, that number grew to ~94,000. And in 1999, five years after passage of Three Strikes, Californiaâs prison population ballooned to 160,000 souls. Three Strikes ends in my office beginning today.
Today we are confronting the lie that stripping entire communities of their liberties somehow made us saferâand weâre doing it with science, research, and data. For decades those who profit off incarceration have used their enormous political influenceâcloaked in the false veil of safetyâto scare the public and our elected officials into backing racist policies that created more victims, destroyed budgets, and shattered our moral compass. That lie and the harm it caused ends now. Taken together these sweeping reforms are intended to permanently change the course of Californiaâs criminal justice system and end the era of mass incarceration in Los Angeles and beyond. But stay tuned. Thereâs more to come.
An additional tweet from the Prosecutors Alliance:
Today George GascĂłn announced:
End of death penalty End of sentence enhancements End of trying children as adults End of cash bail End of criminalizing homelessness, mental health and addiction.
This will end mass incarceration in Los Angeles County and set the tone for California and the US.
















