The Antelope Valley Times

Your community. Your issues. Your news.

  • Home
  • Latest News
  • Local
    • Palmdale
    • Lancaster
    • Los Angeles County
    • Littlerock
    • Lake Los Angeles
    • Rosamond
    • Edwards AFB
    • Acton
  • Crime
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Health
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Advertise
    • About
    • Contact Us
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    Show Search

Gascon, L.A. County Deputy D.As. clash over death penalty

by The AV Times Staff • February 28, 2020

LOS ANGELES – A dispute broke out in the open Friday between District Attorney candidate George Gascon and the Association of Los Angeles Deputy District Attorneys, which represents nearly 1,000 L.A. County deputy D.As., over Gascon’s plan to have 229 people sentenced to death in Los Angeles resentenced.

“The death penalty is broken beyond repair, wastes a massive amount of taxpayer resources, and creates an unnecessary risk that the state will put an innocent person to death,” Gascon said in a statement Thursday.

“State-sanctioned killings do not deter crime, but in light of the unequal application of the death penalty to communities of color it does inflict an extraordinary amount of harm to the moral authority of our justice system.

Gascon said he was joined by family members of those condemned to death, exonerees, advocates, and members of the faith and legal communities to deliver a letter to District Attorney Jackie Lacey calling on her to end her pursuit of the death penalty in Los Angeles and to announce a plan to resentence the 229 people currently on death row from Los Angeles.

The deputy D.As. responded Friday with a scathing statement.

“In another exhibition of fluff and political grandstanding, George Gascon has promised that if elected District Attorney he would seek resentencing for the 229 inmates on death row who were tried and sentenced in Los Angeles County. Never mind that there is no legal authority for him to recall and resentence a person already on death row. For Mr. Gascon, who has never tried a criminal case, there is no need to understand the law when he can just ignore it.”

The prosecutors added that “Gascon’s heart is clearly set on being the champion of the accused and the convicted. There are jobs out there where he could legitimately pursue his goals of trying to reduce criminal penalties and rehabilitate convicted criminals. The Public Defender’s Office, Probation Department, and Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation come to mind. But his absolute contempt for victims of crime make him unsuited to head an office whose mission is ‘protecting our community through the fair and ethical pursuit of justice and the safeguarding of crime victims’ rights.”

–

Filed Under: Home, Los Angeles County, Politics

1 comment for "Gascon, L.A. County Deputy D.As. clash over death penalty"

  1. surfside 6 says

    February 29, 2020 at 12:37 am

    California justice officials certainly are schizoid. Because no matter how many times they end the death penalty, almost every week a different court in this state hands it out just the same anyway.

Recent Comments

  • Beecee on Lancaster man killed in crash involving big rig: “No, Lol” Jan 16, 16:08
  • Beecee on Lancaster man killed in crash involving big rig: “REEEEE! Very odd use of punctuation marks and such Ms. Melton” Jan 16, 16:07
  • Mike on Op-ed: Kevin McCarthy and Mike Garcia must resign: “Well Bobby, what are your thoughts about what happened at the nation’s Capitol last week? Enlighten us.” Jan 16, 15:52
  • Mike on Op-ed: Kevin McCarthy and Mike Garcia must resign: “If you want the “straight scoop” stop watching Faux News.” Jan 16, 15:44
  • Mike on Op-ed: Kevin McCarthy and Mike Garcia must resign: “I don’t recall seeing congress celebrating ANTIFA. Exactly when did congress celebrate ANTIFA? Give examples. It wasn’t ANTIFA wrecking the…” Jan 16, 15:43

© 2021 · The Antelope Valley Times. All rights reserved. Terms of Use