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On First Day in Office, LA County District Attorney George Gascon Announces Move to End 'Unsafe and Unjust' Cash Bail
"I recognize for many this is a new path… Whether you are a protester, a police officer, or a prosecutor, I ask you to walk with me."
Dec 06, 2020
On his first day in office on Monday, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon 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.
"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."
--Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon
The Los Angeles Times reports 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.
Among the other campaign promises included in Gascon's reform agenda are prohibiting prosecutors from seeking the death penalty and no longer trying minors as adults.
"I recognize for many this is a new path... Whether you are a protester, a police officer, or a prosecutor, I ask you to walk with me," Gascon 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."
\u201cThe money bail system is as unsafe as it is unjust. \n\nMoney is a terrible proxy for risk posed to society. \n \nSo today we will end cash bail for any misdemeanor, non-serious or non-violent felony offense. \n \nAnd I will end bail completely January 1.\u201d— George Gasc\u00f3n (@George Gasc\u00f3n) 1607374340
Gascon, 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.
However, the system--although well-intentioned--was plagued by bias that could be every bit as harmful as the prejudices of the humans who designed it.
\u201cAs Los Angeles County's new DA George Gasc\u00f3n was sworn in Monday, he promised drastic reform.\n\nSome of the reforms include: eliminating cash bail, no longer pursuing the death penalty, and eliminating all sentencing enhancements. https://t.co/Su19yBC9Qq\u201d— The Sentencing Project (@The Sentencing Project) 1607376788
\u201cThis 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.\u201d— Ava DuVernay (@Ava DuVernay) 1607379475
Gascon was also sharply criticized during his tenure in San Francisco--which followed that of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris--for 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.
Still, Gascon was also widely hailed--especially outside San Francisco--for his progressive policies and actions, including his decision 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.
\u201cSome 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.\u201d— Ryan Gattis (@Ryan Gattis) 1607374781
\u201cMore people will see the justice they deserve soon. @GeorgeGascon\u201d— Kim Kardashian (@Kim Kardashian) 1607375138
San Francisco has since moved to eliminate cash bail. Shortly after taking office, current San Franisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin fulfilled his campaign promise to no longer request money bail as a condition for defendants' pre-trial release.
In 2018, outgoing California Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law 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 to secure sufficient support.
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#RakeNews: Finns Ridicule Trump's Claim That They Prevent Fires Like California's by "Raking" Forests
When asked about the U.S. president's comments, Finnish President Sauli Niinisto laughed and said he never said anything about raking to Trump
Nov 18, 2018
The nation of Finland was collectively dumbfounded by U.S. President Donald Trump's claim from the fire-ravaged town of Paradise, California that Finns prevent such devastating wildfires by consistently "raking" the floors of their forests.
Speaking alongside California's outgoing Gov. Jerry Brown and Democratic governor-elect Gavin Newsom over the weekend, Trump once again attempted to blame the deadliest wildfire in California's history on poor forest management, and declared that Finnish President Sauli Niinisto told him Finns spend "a lot of time on raking and cleaning and doing things, and they don't have any problem."
When Trump was asked in an interview if the human-caused climate crisis--which has contributed to prolonged droughts and high California heat--may have more to do with the devastating fires than insufficient raking, he said no.
\u201cTrump (self-described genius) thinks Finland have fewer forest fires than California because they rake more.\nhttps://t.co/FPvtNeuBHo\u201d— James Felton (@James Felton) 1542488806
In remarks published in a Finnish newspaper on Sunday, Niinisto said he spoke briefly with Trump about forest management when they were both in Paris for Armistice Day events last weekend, but he had no recollection of discussing "raking" as a wildfire prevention practice and laughed when the interviewer asked him about the U.S. president's comments.
"I told him that Finland is a land covered by forests, but we also have a good control system and network," Niinisto said.
Like their president, ordinary Finns were baffled by Trump's comments and quickly took to social media to mock the U.S. president with photos and videos accompanied by hashtags like #RakeFinlandGreatAgain and #RakeNews.
\u201c\u201cIt rains like hell and is cold AF.\u201d\n\nhttps://t.co/dfXJ86oOHy\u201d— Shannon Watts (@Shannon Watts) 1542598767
\u201cNot on my watch!\n#Rakenews\u201d— Arto Aspfors (@Arto Aspfors) 1542537165
\u201cIn Finland even small kids rake forests.\n#raking #finland #forestrake #rakefinlandgreatagain\u201d— Anders Furu (@Anders Furu) 1542537397
Just this afternoon I was busy meeting my raking quota. #RakeNews #Finland #Haravointi pic.twitter.com/HLaHU0bimO
-- Tarja van Veldhoven (@tarjuccia) November 19, 2018
\u201cMake America Rake Again. #MARA @realDonaldTrump #Finland\u201d— Stephen Sutton (@Stephen Sutton) 1542535570
One Finnish woman posted a photo pretending to vaccuum the forest floor.
"Just an ordinary day in the Finnish forest," she wrote.
\u201cJust an ordinary day in the Finnish forest ~ Ihan normip\u00e4iv\u00e4 suomalaisessa mets\u00e4ss\u00e4 #Trump #forest #firesafety #raking #forestry #Finland #Finnish #CaliforniaFire #RakingAmericaGreatAgain #rakingtheforest #Suomi #haravointi #mets\u00e4palot #rakingleaves\u201d— Pyry Luminen (@Pyry Luminen) 1542550421
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Paradise Lost
As California once again reels from the fires, many are warning this is climate change in action
Nov 12, 2018
As the deadliest wild-fires ever to hit California continue to rage, an estimated 31 people are known to have died, with over 200 still missing. Some 250,000 have been forced to flee their homes. Over 100,000 acres of land has been burnt, including luxury homes in Malibu.
As California once again reels from the fires, many are warning this is climate change in action.
The town of Paradise in Northern California, home to 23,000 people, has effectively been destroyed by what is known as the "Camp Fire", and is now described as a ghost town. The grim headline in the Guardian said: "Only bones and fragments".
At one stage the fire that engulfed Paradise travelled 11 miles in 11 hours or 80 acres a minute. One fire-fighter who had been involved in trying to put out the blaze, observed: "It's devastation, total devastation, it's pretty incredible something like this occurred," "We've gone through lots of wildfire over the years, this is the worst I've seen personally."
The mayor of Paradise, Jody Jones, told the BBC: "Most of the residential [area] is gone. I would say 90%. I had an opportunity to go up there and take a look for myself. Just about everyone I know lost their home."
Yesterday, Governor Brown wrote to President Donald Tump, stating that the community of Paradise was "forever changed", noting that "every resident of Paradise will inevitably have lost their home or had a family member or loved one who had lost their home".
Brown went on to add that "November 2018 has been exceptionally dry" but the "fire weather conditions in Southern California are expected to worsen".
Indeed, in the south of California, near Los Angeles, the other major fire known as the Woolsey fire remains only 10% contained and has burned more than 87,000 acres in three days.
Brown has also made the link between climate change and the fires: He declared: "This is not the new normal, this is the new abnormal. The chickens are coming home to roost, this is real here."
Los Angeles fire chief, Daryl Osby, also made the link: "The fact of the matter is if you look at the state of California, climate challenge is happening statewide," Osby said, adding that "it is going to be here for the foreseeable future".
The statistics speak fo themselves: As Carbonbrief have noted: "In California, 14 of the 20 largest wildfires on record have occurred over the past 15 years. At the same time, the western US has experienced some of its warmest temperatures on record, with 10 of the past 15 years among the 15 warmest years on record, based on temperature records from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)."
As an article in Wired warns: "This is what a climate change reckoning looks like ... The consequence is fires of unprecedented, almost unimaginable scale."
But there is one person who, as usual, seems not to have grasped the reality of the situation at all. Trump's response has been widely criticised as being typically ill-informed: Yesterday, he tweeted: "With proper Forest Management, we can stop the devastation constantly going on in California. Get Smart!"
\u201cWith proper Forest Management, we can stop the devastation constantly going on in California. Get Smart!\u201d— Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump) 1541929250
Musician Neil Young, who lost him home in the blaze, was one of many to criticse Trump's response: "Imagine a leader who defies science, saying these solutions shouldn't be part of his decision-making on our behalf. Imagine a leader who cares more for his own, convenient option than he does for the people he leads. Imagine an unfit leader. Now imagine a fit one."
He was not the only one to criticise Trump: "His comments are reckless and insulting to the firefighters and people being affected," added Harold Schaitberger, president of the International Association of Fire Fighters.
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