By Cheyenne Galloway
LOS ANGELES, CA – Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón addressed the accomplishments of the Los Angeles District Attorney Office (LADA) in a 2023 midterm report this week, ranging from wage theft recovery work to charging law enforcement officers with crimes.
The report outlines that over the past two years, District Attorney Gascón has worked to ensure transparency and accountability of the work done by the DA’s office through four criteria: responsibility, victim and survivor aid, righting former wrongs, and preventing future harm.
DA Gascón said he upheld that work in several ways: reducing the unjust prosecution of non-violent, non-serious misdemeanors; prosecuting those who prey on workers through conquests in wage theft cases; and establishing a Resentencing Unit within the office, among others.
Over the past two years, he said these implementations helped the LADA’s Bureau of Victim Services assist 34,558 people and helped thousands obtain financial support through state funding.
Moreover, the office’s “commitment to accountability” has led to the filing of at least 49 cases against 52 in the law enforcement workforce, exceeding the last two administrations in filing on-duty officer-involved shooting cases.
Gascón said he has “increased the office’s focus on prosecuting people who prey on workers by securing major victories in wage theft cases,” and “established the office’s Resentencing Unit during his first year in office to review eligible cases.
“Since 2021, 110 people have been resentenced in Los Angeles County and 88 of the 110 people’s resentencing resulted in their release. Of those resentenced none have been convicted of a new offense.”
The district attorney also noted he implemented a “blanket policy of no longer seeking execution and is committed to reviewing all past capital cases from Los Angeles County to determine if reducing each sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole (LWOP) would be in the interest of justice.
“Since 2021, LADA has resentenced 20 people on California’s death row to LWOP, saving taxpayers millions of dollars.”
Gascón’s report added, “Although prosecutions are progressing at near identical rates for violent crimes as they have for the last decade, we have significantly reduced our prosecution of non-violent, non-serious misdemeanors…LADA is partnering with public health experts, community partners and law enforcement to push for solutions that address the causes of crime before they spread.”
In response to the office’s strides toward reaching its mission to foster a just legal system, District Attorney Gascón said:
“In the last two years, my office has supported tens of thousands of victims and helped them on their journey to becoming survivors. We held people who cause real harm accountable, and we made sure those with power did not evade accountability because of their privilege.
“Looking back at the last two years, we are extremely proud of the work highlighted in this report. We also know we have a long way to go toward a system of justice that works for everybody. Change does not happen overnight, but we will continue fighting.”
