George Gascón has dedicated his entire life to public service, and we are deeply grateful to him for his service and all he has accomplished over the past four years.
Leaders don’t get to choose when they lead, and DA Gascón was faced with a daunting task when he came into office at the height of the pandemic, as crime and homelessness were on the rise and there were widespread calls for a new approach to justice in Los Angeles. In his time as DA, he did what is so rare for politicians these days: he followed through on his promises, even in the face of unprecedented obstruction and scrutiny. He genuinely listened to people’s concerns and adjusted his policies when needed.
This election is in no way a rejection of reform – if it were, Nathan Hochman wouldn’t have had to conceal his right-wing past and run on a more balanced approach to prosecution. Ironically, Hochman demonized DA Gascón while embracing many of his policies. Now, we’ll make sure he’s held accountable for the promises he made to pursue reform and a balanced approach.
It also can’t be ignored that from the minute the voters of Los Angeles elected DA Gascón in 2020, law enforcement unions and billionaires have worked to block him at every turn. They’ve spent millions of dollars on two failed recall attempts and misled the public about DA Gascón’s record instead of working in partnership with him to address root causes of crime. They’ve played politics with public safety, and they’ve sadly been rewarded for it.
This is just the beginning of the movement for prosecution reform. Our communities deserve better than a failed system that prioritizes punishment above safety, justice and healing. We will not stop fighting until our legal system truly lives up to the ideal of justice for all, and I know that DA Gascón will continue to help lead that fight, as he has every day of his career.
–Prosecutors Alliance Action Executive Director Cristine Soto DeBerry
“LA DA ELECTION RESULTS NOT A REJECTION OF REFORM”
Ummm, it kind of is.
Her point was the guy who won did so by adopting a lot of the reforms that Gascon put in place.
Maybe, but it doesn’t sound much like it according to this article:
“Hochman’s agenda includes a return to seeking the death penalty, an increase in the prosecution of low-level misdemeanors and using sentencing enhancements to seek long prison terms in cases that involve guns or gangs.
After routing Gascón on election night by 23 percentage points, Hochman said in an interview Wednesday that he plans to immediately deliver on his campaign promises to wipe away several of his predecessor’s “blanket, lazy policies” when he’s inaugurated Dec. 2.”
https://www.aol.com/news/next-l-d-roll-back-203110077.html
The larger point is this – when I covered a debate earlier this year, almost everyone agreed that we couldn’t solve the problems simply through incarceration. There were of course significant differences as to what that meant, but it is very clear to me that the floor of criminal justice reform has substantially shifted even if the ceiling still has quite a bit of disagreement.