{"id":1402,"date":"2020-12-07T23:15:51","date_gmt":"2020-12-07T23:15:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiofree.org\/?p=135049"},"modified":"2020-12-07T23:15:51","modified_gmt":"2020-12-07T23:15:51","slug":"on-first-day-in-office-la-county-district-attorney-george-gascon-announces-move-to-end-unsafe-and-unjust-cash-bail","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2020\/12\/07\/on-first-day-in-office-la-county-district-attorney-george-gascon-announces-move-to-end-unsafe-and-unjust-cash-bail\/","title":{"rendered":"On First Day in Office, LA County District Attorney George Gasc\u00f3n Announces Move to End ‘Unsafe and Unjust’ Cash Bail"},"content":{"rendered":"
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On his first day in office on Monday, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gasc\u00f3n unveiled a sweeping set of plans for criminal justice reform in the nation’s most populous county, including moving to phase out cash bail for all misdemeanor and some felony offenses.<\/p>\n

“We can break the multigenerational cycles of violence, trauma, and arrest and recidivism that [have] led America to incarcerate more people than any other nation.”
\u2014Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gasc\u00f3n<\/span><\/p>\n

The Los Angeles Times<\/em> reports<\/a> the new DA also plans to bar prosecutors in his office from pursuing sentencing enhancements in nearly all criminal cases, and is expected to end prosecution of first-time misdemeanor offenders. <\/p>\n

Among the other campaign promises included in Gasc\u00f3n’s reform agenda are prohibiting prosecutors from seeking the death penalty and no longer trying minors as adults. <\/p>\n

“I recognize for many this is a new path\u2026 Whether you are a protester, a police officer, or a prosecutor, I ask you to walk with me,” Gasc\u00f3n said at the first press conference of his new job. “I ask you to join me on this journey. We can break the multigenerational cycles of violence, trauma, and arrest and recidivism that [have] led America to incarcerate more people than any other nation.”<\/p>\n

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The money bail system is as unsafe as it is unjust. <\/p>\n

Money is a terrible proxy for risk posed to society. <\/p>\n

So today we will end cash bail for any misdemeanor, non-serious or non-violent felony offense. <\/p>\n

And I will end bail completely January 1.<\/p>\n

\u2014 George Gasc\u00f3n (@GeorgeGascon) December 7, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

Gasc\u00f3n, a native of Havana, Cuba, championed many of the reforms he is now set to implement while serving first as police chief and then district attorney of San Francisco. In 2016 the then-San Francisco DA introduced an algorithmic risk assessment tool to determine who is eligible for pre-trial release without bail. <\/p>\n

However, the system\u2014although well-intentioned\u2014was plagued by bias<\/a> that could be every bit as harmful as the prejudices of the humans who designed it. <\/p>\n

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As Los Angeles County’s new DA George Gasc\u00f3n was sworn in Monday, he promised drastic reform.<\/p>\n

Some of the reforms include: eliminating cash bail, no longer pursuing the death penalty, and eliminating all sentencing enhancements. https:\/\/t.co\/Su19yBC9Qq<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Sentencing Project (@SentencingProj) December 7, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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This whole thread is a head-spinner. Gascon. Day One. No more cash bail. No sentencing enhancements. Three strikes cases to be re-evaluated. Police shooting cases re-opened. Diversion for youth, poverty, mentally ill cases. Witness services for cases of murder by police. Change. https:\/\/t.co\/WFQrM3Wun2<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Ava DuVernay (@ava) December 7, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

Gasc\u00f3n was also sharply criticized during his tenure in San Francisco\u2014which followed that of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris\u2014for his failure to hold police accountable during a period which saw numerous high-profile officer killings of Black and Brown men including Mario Woods, Luis Gongora Pat, Amilcar Perez-Lopez, and Alex Nieto.<\/p>\n

Still, Gasc\u00f3n was also widely hailed\u2014especially outside San Francisco\u2014for his progressive policies and actions, including his decision<\/a> in 2018 to wipe clean the records of thousands of individuals who had been charged with marijuana-related misdemeanors and felonies over the preceding decades.<\/p>\n

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Some incredible L.A. County criminal justice news in James’s thread here: juveniles no longer to be tried as adults(!), death of cash bail, no sentencing enhancements(!), & more. Wow. This feels massive. https:\/\/t.co\/OmKvh0TFNf<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Ryan Gattis (@Ryan_Gattis) December 7, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

San Francisco has since moved to eliminate cash bail. Shortly after taking office, current San Franisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin fulfilled<\/a> his campaign promise to no longer request money bail as a condition for defendants’ pre-trial release. <\/p>\n

In 2018, outgoing California Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law<\/a> a bill ending cash bail in the nation’s most populous state. However, the bail bond industry challenged the measure, and a 2020 state ballot initiative that would have upheld the law failed<\/a> to secure sufficient support. <\/p>\n\n

This post was originally published on Radio Free<\/a>. <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On his first day in office on Monday, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gasc\u00f3n unveiled a sweeping set of plans for criminal justice reform in the nation\u2019s\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1402"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1402"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1402\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1403,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1402\/revisions\/1403"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1402"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1402"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1402"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}