Civil Rights Attorneys, Public Defenders, Social Justice Organizers, Religious Leaders, Movement Partners, Crime Survivors, and Directly Impacted Communities Strongly Support Mr. Gascón’s New Policy Directives
Voters have recognized that prosecutorial discretion is a tremendous source of power in our criminal legal system that can be dangerously wielded to criminalize poverty, flood prisons and jails, deepen systemic racial disparities, exempt police killings from accountability, justify bloated policing budgets, and prosecute youth like “super predators.” It is the potential for this power to be used to help decriminalize public health issues, make diversion the default, restrain the excesses and violence of law enforcement, end mass incarceration, and ultimately produce safer and healthier communities, that has ushered in a wave of progressive prosecutors around the country.
On his first day in office, Mr. Gascón enacted the policies that were at the center of his widely publicized campaign: The elimination of sentencing enhancements, youth no longer sent to adult criminal court, cash bail drastically scaled back, non-prosecution of low-level misdemeanors, expanded opportunities for parole and resentencing, and the reopening of some cases of police killings. These sweeping reforms will enhance public safety and are well-aligned with a burgeoning national consciousness that we can no longer police and cage away the many social ills produced by inequality, racism, and poverty: the root causes of crime.
We commend DA Gascón for his deep and ongoing collaboration with progressive thinkers, activists, leaders, and organizations, as well as crime survivors and community members who are seeking meaningful societal transformation as opposed to solely punitive measures. The open resistance and brazen hostility displayed by some judges, commissioners, and even certain factions of the DA’s staff who oppose Mr. Gascón’s new directives, only serves to underscore the transformational impact of these directives. The pushback to a progressive approach to crime and safety comes as no surprise, especially as we see the same decades old dog whistle of “Law and Order” being used to undermine a less punitive and more productive approach to public safety.
Sincerely,
American Indian Movement SoCal
ACLU of Northern California
ACLU of Southern California
Bend the Arc: Jewish Action, Southern California
Black Jewish Justice Alliance
Black Lives Matter – Los Angeles
Black Lives Matter – Long Beach
California Coalition for Women Prisoners
California Conference for Equality and Justice
Californians for Safety and Justice
California Public Defender’s Association
Crime Survivors for Safety and Justice
Center for Juvenile Law and Policy, Loyola Law School
Centro CSO
Children’s Defense Fund–California
Coalition for Engaged Education
Color of Change
Court Watch Los Angeles
Creating JusticeLA
Dignity and Power Now
District Attorney Accountability Coalition
Essie Justice Group
Frontline Wellness Network
Gender Justice LA
Ground Game LA
Immigrant Defenders Law Center
Immigrant Legal Resource Center
Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace
JusticeLA
Jewish Voice for Peace – L.A.
LA County Public Defenders Union
La Defensa
LA Voice
M.A.R.I.A (Mothers Against Racism in America)
Me Too Survivors’ March International
National Lawyers Guild – Los Angeles
New Earth
Occupy ICE LA
Reform LA Jails
Re: Store Justice
SEIU Local 2015
Smart Justice California
Stonewall Democratic Club
The Arts for Healing and Justice Network
The Church Without Walls – Skid Row
The Future Left
The Los Angeles Regional Reentry Partnership
UCLA Cops off Campus Coalition
UCLA Labor Center
Urban Peace Institute
White People 4 Black Lives