Controversial Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon has made another move outraging victims of crime in his community.
The District Attorney’s Office will be shuttering almost all services to crime victims regarding the parole of convicted killers and other criminals. Embattled District Attorney George Gascon announced that he is closing the “Lifer Unit,” staffed by three prosecutors who manage a calendar of upcoming parole hearings. The unit works with victims and attends hearings to help keep the baddest of LA’s bad behind bars.
Under the prior administration, attorneys attended hearings to represent victims and their families. That was stopped last year, and now, the remaining prosecutors will no longer notify victims of upcoming dates.
“I wonder if Gascon will find any more ways to not do his job or his duty as a prosecutor,” said Steve Cooley, one of Gascon’s predecessors. “Whenever I think it’s as bad as it gets, he finds new ways to victimize the community and people he is supposed to protect.”
Gascon said in a written statement that the state of California bears the responsibility of notifying victims of assailants who are about to be released or have a scheduled hearing.
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“They reach out to all registered victims and/or their next of kin … [and are] staffed and trained to support victims, provide them with information about the parole hearing process and provide other services,” the statement said.
The DA’s Office also claimed that victims who receive a notification can be “triggered,” something the office is trying to avoid.
Sirhan Sirhan
“Victims experts have informed us that this is not a trauma-informed approach, and we agree,” the statement said. “Contacting victims and their next of kin can be very triggering especially if they do not welcome the intrusion.”
However, victims have said otherwise, including one mother who was forced to attend the parole hearing for the killer of her murdered son last year without the support of a prosecutor. Jessica Corde viewed his murder file for the first time, looking at photos of Marquis LeBlanc’s mangled body after he had been beaten and thrown over a cliff.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has attempted to close the gap between killers and traumatized family members by attending hearings in lieu of prosecutors. They say it’s a disadvantage because they cannot argue legal issues, but it’s still a way to support victims.
“Not notifying next of kin or victims because it would trigger them is the dumbest thing I ever heard,” Sheriff Alex Villanueva told the Washington Examiner. “I think triggering would mean encountering your loved ones’ killer on the street thinking they were in jail forever.”
A 2008 California constitutional amendment states that prosecutors shall assist and represent victims at parole hearings, which has been a very solid and effective policy in Los Angeles since the early 1970s, Cooley said.
“In the past, the DA would always go to these hearings. Now, it’s up to us to help out the family. If we don’t help them, there is no one,” said sheriff’s homicide detective Shaun McCarthy. “They are on an island, ignorant of the process. They don’t know what to do. We stepped in to help.”
McCarthy is assigned to the unsolved unit, where cases dating back decades patiently wait for a fresh eye to discover a new clue that will crack it open. The unit has 4,500 unsolved cases, and 35 of those belong to McCarthy, who says he can solve them. But they will have to wait because his days are spent on parole hearings.
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America saw the glaring results of Gascon’s “no parole hearing” policy on Aug. 27, when Sirhan Sirhan was granted parole for the murder of Robert F. Kennedy. He was housed in a San Diego County prison, where a stunned district attorney there openly criticized the lack of victim representation at the parole hearing.
Then, there was Stephen Kay, who prosecuted the Manson family in 1970 and dutifully attended their 60 parole hearings, spanning some 30 years. He only stopped because of retirement and wasn’t there on Sept. 9, when the parole board recommended release for Leslie Van Houten.
