Thread by @GeorgeGascon

40 years ago I walked my first beat as a young police officer.

Today, I was sworn in as the 43rd District Attorney of Los Angeles.

I am not the same man I was when I first put on the uniform.

One of the many reasons for that is because of situations I faced as a young officer - situations & experiences that have stayed with me, and that continue to shape my approach to this work.

Those experiences taught me the criminal justice system is fundamentally broken.

Today, we will usher in a new era of criminal justice, and transform the largest criminal justice jurisdiction in America.

The money bail system is as unsafe as it is unjust.

Money is a terrible proxy for risk posed to society.

So today we will end cash bail for any misdemeanor, non-serious or non-violent felony offense.

And I will end bail completely January 1.

Experts estimate that hundreds of individuals behind bars today will be eligible to be freed tomorrow under this new pretrial release policy.

Enhancements, a legacy of the "tough-on-crime" era, are a principal driver of excessive sentences & mass incarceration.

CA enacted over 100 enhancements which are outdated, incoherent, & applied unfairly.

To end mass incarceration in LA we will cease filing ALL enhancements.

CA’s 1994 3 Strikes Law has been a disaster.

In 1980 CA had a prison pop of ~23,000.

In 1990, that number grew to ~94,000.

And In 1999, 5 years after passage of 3 Strikes, CA‘s prison population ballooned to 160,000 souls.

3 strikes ends in my office beginning today.

The pursuit of justice is timeless and that's why these policies will be applied retroactively. At least 20,000 people currently incarcerated in prison will now be eligible for consideration for resentencing.

This will save CA BILLIONS of dollars.

At least 50% of all persons sentenced to state prison from LA are rated low-risk to reoffend by prison officials.

95% of individuals who have served 20 years or more are rated low-risk to reoffend.

These excessive sentences are NOT making us safer.

My office will prioritize consideration for ppl convicted of nonviolent crimes, those deemed low risk for release, ppl with demonstrated records of rehabilitation, older individuals, ppl who are especially at risk for COVID-19, and ppl sentenced to adult prison terms as children.

The resentencing process will be a significant undertaking and will include input from victims and victim advocates. The @AmityFoundation, in partnership with the Returning Home Well initiative, have promised to assist everyone resentenced.

There are currently 215 people on CA’s death row from LA County alone.

An astonishing 85% of them are people of color.

The death penalty does not make us safer. It's racist, morally untenable, irreversible, and expensive.

And today, it's off the table.

In the 80s & 90s, America defunded public housing & mental health.

We turned public health problems into criminal ones - the results were disastrous.

Now, we will begin diverting 1st time low-level misdemeanors into services instead of criminalizing homelessness & poverty.

For decades we attached felony consequences to low-level offenses. It foreclosed job & housing opportunities, exacerbated recidivism, crime & homelessness, & created more victims.

We must design a system that actually listens to, protects, and restores victims.

Beginning immediately, victims will no longer be required to testify to receive victim services.

And this office will extend victim services to families of those killed by law enforcement.

I have already pledged to re-open four fatal officer-involved shootings.

My office will now convene a Use of Force Review Board to review fatal use of force cases dating back to at least 2012.

We must hold police accountable to restore trust in law enforcement.

Today we are confronting the lie that stripping entire communities of their liberties somehow made us safer–and we're doing it with science, research, and data.

For decades those who profit off incarceration have used their enormous political influence–cloaked in the false veil of safety–to scare the public and our elected officials into backing racist policies that created more victims, destroyed budgets, and shattered our moral compass

That lie and the harm it caused ends now.

Taken together these sweeping reforms are intended to permanently change the course of CA's criminal justice system & end the era of mass incarceration in Los Angeles & beyond.

But stay tuned. There's more to come.