By Paula M. Mitchell and Justin Brooks
The voters elected George Gascón as LA County’s District Attorney because they want evidence-based policies that promote justice for all members of the community, not just a continuation of past failed policies. Mr. Gascón has already taken some giant steps in the right direction.
As part of innocence organizations representing people who were wrongfully prosecuted and convicted in LA County, we have seen firsthand how the DA’s past “tough on crime” policies have caused wrongful convictions and then allowed them to evade meaningful review and correction. These outdated policies have also contributed to California’s mass incarceration problem and eroded the public’s trust in the system. Mr. Gascón’s policies aim to remedy these problems. They are lawful, data-based, and the very platform that voters embraced when they elected him. And we believe that they will help address the problem of wrongful convictions in Los Angeles.
First, Mr. Gascón recognizes that policing and police accountability in LA are long-festering issues in need of urgent attention, for a number of reasons. Police misconduct was a contributing factor in nearly half of California’s known wrongful convictions since 1989, including many cases out of LA County, where the problem is acute.
A report publishe
To tackle these and other serious issues, Mr. Gascón immediately brought on Special Advisor Diana Teran, who has spent the last 10 years as a Law Enforcement Accountability Advisor, reviewing and providing advice on deputy-involved shootings, internal affairs investigations, accountability, and law enforcement policies. While these problems will not be remedied overnight, Mr. Gascón’s commitment to law enforcement accountability as a top priority is an important first step in restoring the public’s trust.
Second, Mr. Gascón recognizes that mass incarceration in California is an issue that LA County, specifically, must address.
California’s bloated prison system is one of the most expensive in the world, employing over 30,000 officers, parole agents and investigators, making it one of the largest law enforcement agencies in the nation. Roughly 32% of those incarcerated in California prisons—40,000 people—are from LA County, which also operates the largest jail system in the nation. Mr. Gascón is committed to addressing this problem by reviewing the lengthy sentences LA County has been handing down over the last three-plus decades, under failed “tough on crime” policies that undoubtedly swept up innocent individuals in the expansive net they cast, and seeking resentencing when warranted.
Third, Gascón also recognizes that irrefutable evidence shows wrongful convictions occur with unacceptable frequency. He has directed his office to carefully review and investigate every potentially meritorious wrongful conviction claim raised in a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, or brought to the Conviction Integrity Unit, to ensure that justice is done. Under the policies of the last administration, nearly two thousand convictions were reviewed by the office’s conviction review unit and only a handful were found to be wrongful convictions. Those numbers simply do not add up.
It is estimated—conservatively—that
Wrongful convictions do incredible damage at every level of the criminal justice system, from the law enforcement agencies that investigated, arrested and testified against an innocent person, to the prosecutors who charged, tried, and obtained a conviction against the wrong person, to the juries who convicted the wrong person, to the judges who wrongfully imposed sentences—often decades-long sentences—on innocent people.
And, to the crime survivors and crime victim’s families who never received justice, they too are forever impacted by a wrongful conviction. Of course, nothing amounts to the damage that is done to the innocent men and women who were incarcerated for another’s crime, a nightmare few of our clients ever escape.
Uncovering wrongful convictions is also important because every time the wrong person is arrested and convicted, the true perpetrator of the crime—often a violent crime—remains at large.
Mr. Gascón’s policies and directives are an important first step in uncovering and correcting the grave injustices that have long plagued the community and restoring the public’s trust in the system. They also demonstrate his understanding that we need to look backward to find and correct mistakes that were made in the past, before we can move forward together and create healthy and peaceful communities, where everyone is treated equally in the eyes of the law. These policies are a step in the right direction.
The Project for the Innocent at Loyola Law School and the California Innocence Project look forward to working together with the LA District Attorney’s Office to ensure that justice is done in Los Angeles, for everyone.
Paula M. Mitchell is Legal Director of the Loyola Law School Project for the Innocent.
Justin Brooks, is Director of the California Innocence Project, representing indigent individuals incarcerated in California state prisons with claims of actual innocence.
The photo above is of wrongfully convicted Kash Delano Register who was released after 34 years in prison, with the help of Loyola’s Project for the Innocent, after Superior Court Judge Katherine Mader ruled that prosecutors used false witness testimony and tried to hide evidence that could have proven Register’s innocence/via LPI
Speaking of Gascon and his crusade to protect criminals, ignore the safety of the public and throw aside the rights of victims and their families.
https://patch.com/california/lakeforest-ca/no-contest-plea-anaheim-hills-boys-abduction-murder
Luckily there are DA’s who abide by the law and their oath to “represent the best intersest of the people”, namely “real victims of crime”, their families and the public at large. The purpose of the Public Defender’s Office is to represent the suspect/criminal.
I guess the Leftist think Tank “research” did not include “real victims of crime families” as part of their research group but instead they focused on criminals (or by SJW definition victims) and their families.
Some thoughts…California has or is approaching a population of 40 million people. The largest state by population in the US and it has a larger population than either Australia or Canada. Would it not stand to reason that it correspondingly has a significant budget for law enforcement? Cali probably has in comparison, many more people in a variety of other careers as well. It also has a healthy number of people that victimize others.
The link to the exoneration web site listed 49 cases, some dating back decades. The first few are specific to the Rampart scandal. I have zero issue with individuals/agencies being held properly accountable and 4.1% is 4.1% too many but if 95.9% – conservatively – of convictions are rightfully obtained, the vast majority of people in the system are doing a commendable job. Gascon and his supporters are failing to recognize that and are throwing out the baby with the bath water.
Gascan is a Soros-funded leftist activist, not a DA. He cares only for scumbag criminals, as he has been instructed to do.
There is no problem with “Mass Incarceration” not in California or anywhere else in our country. Just shut up with the constant lie, the numbers just don’t show it’s a fact. We don’t incarcerate enough people, release way too many and certainly don’t kill enough bad guys either legally when able to execute them or when given the chance when dealing with law enforcement.
You weak ass SJW’s and Leftist little girls know that violence is way up. Blacks especially are killing each other at pretty much a record pace today and none of you truly give a damn about it. Or did I miss the article here where Celeste or Taylor wrote about it or some “Guest” came on and did?
No, I didn’t, better for you to constantly gripe about the plight of the criminals in society and here’s another term that’s played out that is a SJW “Fairy Tale”, Police Violence. Numbers don’t add up that it’s an issue in the country either, violence directed at us is a bigger one.
I’ll wait for the coming CF drivel accompanied with racist popo nonsense and talk of rotund cops, it’s all he has, not truth and never facts. In fact, I already posted for him, no need to say anything Little Man.
[…] DA Gascón’s Evidence-Based Policies Will Help Reduce Wrongful Convictions (Witness L.A.) […]
Nothing about his policies will reduce wrongful convictions. That title is completely absurd and misleading. Ultimately, it is up to his staff to determine culpability and the strength of the evidence. If the case isn’t subject to plea bargain, it will be up to a jury to decide guilt or innocence. I guess you could make the argument that his attempt to not prosecute certain crimes could lead to less wrongful convictions, but that is the same as saying LAPD will have less uses of force if they don’t respond to calls for service. The burden of proof is still the same. Juries and DDAs are human and still can get things wrong.
I will still be laughing all night about the title of this article.
Victimla.com
When our black and brown communities suffer at the hand of the system as a gateway to continual slavery through mass incarceration using the 13th admendment except for punishment and legalize continual abuse and malicious prosecutions by those who hold the power of the law such as unbelieving Prosecutors who choose to inhumanely punish the innocent contributing to wrongful prosecution and seeking death sentences and LWOP using hundred and thousand of tax payers dollars and punishing those who do not deserve this harsh and cruel inhumane treatment
the outcome only produce broken families and communities that are continually being destroyed for generations. This is not the remedy Criminal Justice reform is the answer rebuilding our communities with new police reform laws to stop killing our minority communities who by striking fear and resistance within the hearts of our families beating our black and minority men and women while instilling fear and using excessive force have destroyed the faith within many communities and families from 1965 to 2022 from Rodney King to George Floyd with our nation and Los Angeles Ca Destroying enhanced sentencing for non fully evidence based cases and prepunishment of individuals before prosecution destroy families of the innocent based upon their Unbelief will make our communities more trusting and a place of healing and Restoration where we can build trust again
When we get leaders such as Mr.Gascon who apt to make changes to build and rehabilitate our communities we support them and work with them to solve community problems regarding black and brown communities and our inherited generational deficiencies and our needs.
Solutions
We build community boards for change and allow community to have valid input and set up leaders within those communities as a board who report in to DA to solve problems
We also include our childrens voice as a part of the community voice for change this will restore trust and develop ideas that are pertinent and conducive to the community needs
Using law enforcement to help community oversee their community development policies that will include a collaborative effort of the community as a whole
This will create solidarity within our community each one helping one will build our communities based upon the Royal Law Treating others on how we would want to be treated and loving
neighbors as we love ourselves We should champion change seeing that the systems in place are more destructive than productive especially often times using laws that’s are not amended from 1871 and still are punishing the black and brown men and women more harshly than any other race at a greater capacity
We as the people might want to step back and take a good look at who’s really destroying our communities Systemic murder of the innocent through wrongful convictions and malicious prosecutions is a greater evil more than any other murder especially when Prosecutors choose to harm the innocent using statements for grounds as I don’t believe and challenging black and brown communities with statements sthat should reflect their refusal to believe while finding it easier presumptuous cruelly prepunished minority men and women based upon Non belief of their innocence eNot fully evidence based DNA FULLY evidence based cases have used statements such as who believes an innocent black man And continue to punish the weak sometimes even subjecting them to nearly a death experience through pretrial negligence and Constitutional violations regarding admendents rights the Changes are needed now and if we all work toward these changes which includes No more wrongful incarceration of those cases which are not fully evidence based DNA etc before the human being is destroyed through wrongful incarceration we can work towards a rebuild that will empower those who have been treated unfairly and to help restore faith in those who will work together toward the necessary changes needed to build our future for all of our families such as our children and young people who leads our tomorrow
#STOPWRONGFULCONVICTIONSNOW
#MARIA
Mother’s against Racism in America