This is part two of a continuing series of questions and answers with the candidates for Los Angeles District Attorney.
When Mayor Karen Bass held a press conference to announce an inter-agency law enforcement task force to tackle the issue of smash and grab robberies, one person was noticeably absent: Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon.
Exactly how bad does your relationship with the rest of law enforcement have to be to – as the chief prosecutor – not be asked to be a part of such an event? As a former elected official I can tell you: very very very bad.
Cops simply do not trust Gascon to prosecute people properly when they are arrested, a fact that has led directly to fewer arrests (that’s why Gascon can try to claim crime is down – pretty convenient, huh?)
As to the death penalty, it is an admittedly sticky ethical issue for some but not only is it state law but attempts to eliminate it entirely have been soundly rejected by California voters – twice.
Let’s get to today’s questions:
How has George Gascon harmed the DA’s office relationship with other law enforcement agencies and can it be repaired and, if so, how?
DEBRA ARCHULETA
Gascón has actively and intentionally strained the relationship between the DA’s office and their law enforcement partners. Many officers feel demoralized because the DA’s failure to prosecute misdemeanor and felony crimes has rendered their efforts meaningless. Our law enforcement agencies feel disrespected, with some losing approximately twenty percent of their force. Our communities absorb these losses as they result in longer response times, a lower level of service, and fewer cases filed on behalf of victims. Despite the years he spent as a police officer and in police leadership, Gascón has abandoned those who have followed in his footsteps since becoming District Attorney. Restoring these one-strong partnerships will be a priority in my administration.
DANIEL KAPELOVITZ
I already work well with law enforcement, and in fact, treat them with more respect in court than many prosecutors. While I have no police-union support, many retired officers who have spent decades in law enforcement have endorsed me.
Instead of defunding the police, we need to increase funding to pay for more training and to offer higher salaries to recruit the best people. The same goes for our attorneys. We need to compete with corporate law firms and pay competitive salaries so new attorneys will work for us instead of soul- sucking law firms. And we need to be able to hire veteran criminal attorneys from other jurisdictions and offices and from private practice.
MARIA RAMIREZ
DAVID MILTON
NATHAN HOCHMAN
Collaboration is one of the most important qualities of a District Attorney and arguably is one of the current DA’s greatest failures. Gascon has made a point of putting special interests and politics over the needs and support of law enforcement, resulting in a deteriorated relationship and lack of trust between law enforcement agencies and his office. He has been more interested in prosecuting the police than partnering with them.
As District Attorney, I will always exercise an open-door policy with our partners and ensure their voices are heard on crucial matters regarding our justice system. I am in a unique position to restore the collaborative partnership between the DA’s Office and local, state, and federal law enforcement, having worked as a federal prosecutor and US Assistant Attorney General; led federal, state and local task forces; defended law enforcement officers in administrative hearings and court; co-founded the LA Sheriff’s Foundation; but also have personally prosecuted corrupt officers. This gives me credibility with all groups – law enforcement, victims, the public – that my calls will be based on the evidence and the law, not some political ideological agenda like Gascon.
California voters have repeatedly affirmed their support for the death penalty. Would you ever pursue the death penalty and, if not, why?
DEBRA ARCHULETA
The District Attorney’s Office has a Special Circumstances Committee that reviews all death-eligible and LWOP cases. This team, consisting of many of the most experienced prosecutors, meet to discuss the appropriate penalty in these types of cases. As a Deputy District Attorney, I appeared before this Committee. The death penalty is to be considered only in extremely rare instances for particularly egregious cases, such as a mass school shooting or murder of a police officer in the line of duty. As District Attorney, I would pursue the death penalty only under such severe circumstances. Ultimately, however, the death penalty is imposed by the jury in each case and is subject to multiple levels of appellate review.
DANIEL KAPELOVITZ
In LA County, where I’m running, the majority of voters in 2016 voted to repeal the death penalty.
Views have changed since 2016. People are realizing that the death penalty doesn’t work and disproportionately affects nonwhites and the underprivileged. In a 2021 poll, 44% of Californians said they’d vote to eliminate the death penalty, with only 35% supporting it. Additionally, 48% supported Newsom’s executive order to halt executions, while only 33% opposed it.
I will never seek the death penalty. That people on death row have been exonerated is reason enough to eliminate it. Moreover, it doesn’t deter murder. People committing crimes assume they will not get caught. Otherwise, life in prison would deter them just as much as execution. Eliminating the death penalty would save California countless millions – money that could be used to address the root causes of violent crime. And, of course, killing people is wrong.
MARIA RAMIREZ
The death penalty continues to be the law in the state of California despite multiple attempts to repeal it. As District Attorney I must follow the law, but we have a responsibility to implement the law fairly and just. I will implement a thorough and robust process of review for the most heinous of murders and pursue the death penalty when appropriate.
DAVID MILTON
I have a great deal of experience with the subject matter. As a prosecutor, I achieved two death verdicts. As a judge, I imposed a death sentence. A district attorney’s personal view is not a relevant factor. A district attorney is duty-bound to follow the law. Californians have twice voted that the death penalty should be an option for the most egregious cases. If a district attorney is so opposed to the death penalty that he cannot follow the law, he should not be the district attorney.
I drafted two death penalty bills. Shooting from a motor vehicle causing death and shooting into an inhabited dwelling causing death. Because there is a moratorium on the penalty, the district attorney must evaluate on a case-by-case basis, collaborate with experienced deputy district attorneys and thereafter determine whether the penalty should be sought considering factors such as certainty of guilt, whether it likely will be imposed, budget constraints and other factors.
NATHAN HOCHMAN
The following candidates did not participate: Eric Siddall, John McKinney, Jon Hatami, Jeff Chemerinsky, and Craig Mitchell.
As to George Gascon, he was asked different but related questions:
Your relationships with other law enforcement agencies are strained. Why is that so and what would you do to repair them?
California voters have repeatedly affirmed their support for the death penalty. You have an adamantine policy of never pursuing the death penalty. Is this not in direct conflict with the will of the public?
Again, he did not reply to the request.
View Comments (1)
When morale is as low as it has been under DA George Gascon, officers leave LAPD. Which is completely understandable because who would want to serve and risk one's life and reputation under the demoralizing circumstances delivered by a knucklehead like George Gascon who refuses to prosecute even the most egregious crimes after officers have done the work of catching and arresting the worst of the worst?
Officers either retire early or go to police forces in smaller cities near L.A. (or maybe even leave California). Once that happens, recruitment is very difficult and, even if it weren't, training and experience take time, as you can imagine. It's obviously not a snap of the fingers and presto, a fully staffed police department appears, even when the money is there to pay them, after city "leaders" decide Defund the Police isn't exactly working out. This is especially scarily true in the L.A. Sheriff's office where the number of deputies is WAY down, and has been for some time. Blame Gascon, because it's on him.
I like that those DA candidates who didn't participate in the Globe reporter's inquiries are always named. It tells us something, doesn't it. Every candidate should be taking advantage of every opportunity and even attending every small and/or nutty candidate forum.
And I'm loving that the questions asked of George Gascon are posted (for us) and left hanging conspicuously in the air because Gascon can never be bothered to answer them. Makes me smile every time. He probably doesn't even know of their existence. What a guy. May we be rid of him very soon. (knock wood)