Prosecutors in Los Angeles County have voted nearly unanimously to back the recall of District Attorney George Gascón — a rebuke of the embattled progressive that came just after Gascón reversed course on controversial sentencing policies, Politico reports. The Association of Deputy District Attorneys for Los Angeles, a union representing line prosecutors, said ninety seven percent of its members had voted to back a burgeoning effort to oust Gascón a little over a year after he took office. An earlier attempt to recall Gascón fizzled last year as organizers failed to gather enough signatures. The organization’s stance could jolt a followup recall effort, particularly if the organization lends financial support to the campaign. Gascón has been locked in a protracted standoff with his subordinates from almost the moment he took office on a platform that promised sweeping criminal justice reforms.
Gascón abandoned a blanket commitment to stop trying juveniles as adults or seeking life without parole, saying he would now consider those penalties on a case-by-case basis. He also reversed himself and said he erred in trying as a juvenile a 26-year-old woman who was charged with sexually assaulting a child when the suspect was 17. Gascón announced the shift after the case drew outrage and led Fox News to publish jailhouse recordings of the alleged perpetrator boasting about receiving a light sentence. The recall campaign targeting Gascón has until May to collect enough signatures to force an election. A separate recall vote targeting progressive San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin will go before voters in June.
Comments