Los Angeles County district attorney backpedals on criminal justice reforms

Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon reversed some of his more lenient positions regarding juveniles convicted of murder and violent sexual assault, according to leaked memos.

Gascon announced Friday that a special committee tasked with reviewing cases of juveniles who committed serious offenses will have the power to approve a prosecutor’s request to transfer relevant cases out of juvenile court and into adult court. The district attorney previously enacted a policy Wednesday that forced prosecutors to receive approval from their direct superiors before transferring a case, a more lenient position from the freedom district attorneys previously enjoyed to transfer cases freely from court to court.

“After listening to the community, victims and colleagues, I understand that there may be the rare occasion where the filing of special circumstance allegations may be necessary,” Gascon’s memo read.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM SHOULD FOCUS ON FAMILY

Prosecutors may continue to seek a maximum sentence of life without the possibility of parole “where it is deemed such filings are appropriate” under the new policy.

The committee will include Director of Specialized Prosecutions Larry Droeger, Gascon’s special adviser Alisa Blair, and chief of staff Joseph F. Iniguez. Iniguez was arrested in December after suspected intoxication at a traffic stop.

Gascon has been facing political pressure ever since the Los Angeles County Registrar of Voters’ Office approved a second petition for a recall election for the district attorney. An earlier attempt to get him recalled failed last September.

Los Angeles child abuse prosecutor Jonathan Hatami alleged on Twitter that the district attorney’s reversal is a direct result of the proposed recall.

“George Gascón recap: I changed my entire belief system overnight,” Hatami tweeted Saturday. “I stipulated to reduce a murderer’s sentence without the victim’s families input. I refused to prosecute thousands of cases in Santa Clarita & over 30 other cities in LA. I am terrified of the recall.”

Petitioners have just over 100 days to collect signatures from 566,857 registered voters, which adds up to 10% of the county’s current total.

Other liberal district attorneys have similarly walked back lenient crime policies. Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg similarly rolled back his attempt at criminal justice reform that would have seen softer penalties for various crimes.

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Los Angeles faced over 20 homicides, 60 rapes, and 1,300 aggravated assaults from Jan. 16 to Feb. 12, according to the Los Angeles Police Department. There were more than 2,100 violent crimes in that time period, a 5% increase from Dec. 19, 2021, to Jan. 15.

Representatives for Gascon’s office did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment.