Written by Urvi Sakurikar
On Saturday, several victim’s rights advocates launched an effort to recall recently elected Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascon. The group needs to collect at least 20 signatures to file a notice of intent to begin the recall.
Some of the members of the recall campaign group include former LA Councilman Dennis Zine, prosecutors, and former law enforcement officials.
Upon taking office, Gascon promised a series of radical reforms, which include abolishing the death penalty as well as ending sentencing enhancements. These promises have been extremely divisive and are even opposed by Gascon’s own staff and local law enforcement.
Los Angeles has already been ranked as one of the most dangerous places in the US. And the fact is that Gascon’s policies are soft on crime and will only contribute to the crime problem in LA.
Trenton Lowell is currently awaiting trial for an execution-style killing of LA County Sheriff’s Sergeant Steve Owen in 2016. However, on the very day Gascon was sworn in his office informed Owen’s wife that they would not be pursuing the death penalty, life without parole, or any other sentence enhancements.
Gascon acknowledged that the “…. pain and trauma of losing a loved one….” but his actions speak louder than his words.
Earlier this month, an LA County judge ruled that Gascon’s plan to end sentence enhancements in criminal cases is a violation of California law. Gascon pledged to continue his fight against sentence enhancements, however.
Gascon took office on December 7 and there is a 90 day grace period before a recall petition can be filed, therefore it is likely the process will begin in early March. After approval of the petition’s phrasing, the campaign will have 160 days to collect signatures from about 580,000 people.
Based on the current timeline, the recall could be on the ballot by 2022. A Facebook group for the campaign has almost 40,000 members and is growing every day.
It is no surprise that there is already an overwhelming amount of support to recall Gascon despite it only being 3 months since he was elected. His agenda favors dangerous criminals over the safety and quality of life of Los Angeles residents.
“A softer and gentler criminal justice system” will only encourage more crime and will create more victims.
The justice system needs to be made more efficient and work in a way that benefits the public, but Gascon’s approach will only do the opposite.
Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
