LOS ANGELES – A group of law professors and legal scholars released an open letter Wednesday calling on District Attorney Jackie Lacey to stop seeking the death penalty in murder cases, citing a report that the convicted killers who have been sentenced in Los Angeles County to death while she has been in office are all “people of color.”
“Not only does Lacey seek and obtain the death penalty more often (than) almost any other prosecutor, those sentenced to death under her watch have been exclusively people of color,” according to the letter, which is signed by professors from universities including USC, UCLA, UC Irvine, Loyola Law School and Pepperdine. “She pursues the death penalty in the face of terrible defense lawyering and not withstanding a moratorium on executions in California.”
The letter, signed by 75 law professors and legal scholars, notes that “a majority of Los Angeles County voters favored the abolition of capital punishment in both 2012 and 2016.”
A report released last month by the American Civil Liberties Union — which called for the district attorney to “step up and step away from the death penalty” — noted that 13 of the inmates who were sentenced to death since Lacey was sworn in as the county’s top prosecutor in December 2012 were Latino, while eight were black and one was Asian. The report noted that no county in the United States has produced more death sentences than Los Angeles County, with nearly a third of California’s death row inmates coming from the region.
In a letter released earlier this month, Lacey countered that she has “asked for and received death sentences for eight defendants in some of Los Angeles County’s most horrendous killings,” including the torture-murder of an 8-year-old boy in Palmdale and the killings of five people at a homeless encampment in Long Beach.
The district attorney noted that the victims were diverse — six African-Americans, six whites, five Latinos and four Asian Pacific Islanders.
“I mention race because my office recently was criticized for its record on the death penalty,” Lacey wrote. “My prosecutors make decisions based on the facts of the crime — not the race of the defendant or the victim. In Los Angeles County, a committee of experienced and diverse prosecutors examine the facts of these cases, including mitigating circumstances presented by the defendant and his attorneys, in one of the nation’s most extensive review processes.”
In a statement shortly after the open letter was released, Shiara Davila-Morales of the District Attorney’s Office said, “The law has not changed and, until it does, Los Angeles County prosecutors will continue to fairly evaluate all special circumstance cases and seek death against the worst of the worst offenders, including child murderers and serial killers. In Los Angeles County, our office has sought a death sentence for less than 3 percent of the approximately 1,200 defendants who, under the law, may be punished for their crimes by death.”
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michael rives says
So someone hurts your feelings, you can now murder them? I don’t think so.
Tim Scott says
Is there any connection, however remote, between your comment and the issue at hand? If so I sure don’t see it.
Chris W. says
Oh, how many times you have gone off on some rant that had nothing to do with the issue at hand.
Tim Scott says
I dunno Chris. You seem obsessed enough with me to have kept count. How many?
Chris W. says
I read all the comments, Tim, and you stand out over the years as being particularly unable to stay focused on the issues at hand. Too, too many to count. Your obsessive need to feel superior to all others is more of a telling sign that you have mirror issues. It’s your battle little man.
Tim Scott says
I generally don’t even try to stay focused on the issues at hand. Like in this case I just pointed out that the whole “hurt feelings justify murder” bit was totally OFF the issue at hand. But, as usual, my comment did directly relate to the comment I was responding to.
It seems like someone who reads all the comments would have recognized that, but I guess you were more interested in playing for a tip of the cap from the “we hate Tim and hardly pay attention” crowd than in dealing with the actual situation. Try for a cheap shot and hope to slip away unnoticed is a weak tactic. Did you have any reason to expect it to work?
Tom says
Why am I not surprised by this. People no longer take credit for their actions. You killed it’s not your fault your father didn’t buy you that bike for Christmas in 1985. You stole money from a charity event, don’t worry your mother yelled at you growing up. Your on your 10th DUI, oh it’s a medical condition now even though 20 years ago it was a mental and physical choice to quit drinking. I say start executions once people see your crimes come with a punishment they just might rethink.
Professors and Scholars says
I guess Jackie Lacey is a racist now.