Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
LA Prosecutor Backs Bill to Remove Youth Offenses from 'Three Strikes' Count
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 4 years ago on
April 9, 2021

Share

SACRAMENTO — Los Angeles’ new reform-minded top prosecutor said Friday that it’s time to remove youthful offenders from California’s tough career criminal law that can greatly extend their prison time later in life.

Juvenile Cases Should be ‘Based on Rehabilitation, Not on Punishment’

District Attorney George Gascón, who runs the nation’s largest prosecutors’ office, backed pending legislation that would prevent juvenile “strikes” from counting toward future sentencing enhancements under the state’s “three-strikes” law that can lead to life prison sentences for repeat serious offenders.

“The juvenile system is based on rehabilitation, not on punishment,” he said. Juvenile cases are not considered criminal proceedings, and he noted juvenile offenders lack the same constitutional protections as adults, such as the right to jury trials.

Yet state law treats juvenile strikes for youths age 16 and older the same as for adults, subjecting them to longer prison terms if they are later convicted of second- and third strikes. A second strike doubles the underlying sentence and a third serious or violent felony can trigger a life sentence.

That helps crowd prisons and disproportionately affects people of color, Gascón argued.

No Comment Yet from CA District Attorneys Association

The California District Attorneys Association, which has sparred with Gascón on other actions, has not yet taken a position on the proposal, said legislative director and former prosecutor Larry Morse.

“I expect there will be a wide range of opinions among the DAs on that bill. It’s obviously a provocative and intriguing proposal,” Morse said, in part because of the argument that state law treats juveniles differently than adults.

“It makes absolutely no sense that a kid who can’t go to prom would have an action at that point … that could be used down the line to count as a third strike,” said Democratic Assemblyman Miguel Santiago of Los Angeles, who is carrying the bill.

His proposed legislation would allow those who were previously issued a strike in juvenile court to have it vacated and to seek resentencing if they are currently incarcerated.

Michele Hanisee, a deputy district attorney and president of the Association of Deputy District Attorneys for Los Angeles County that also has sparred with Gascón, said through a spokesman that she couldn’t comment because the union’s board has not taken a position on the bill.

Unfair to Harshen Punishment for Actions Committed as an Adolescent

Youths ages 16 and 17 “are not fully developed adults” and are much more likely to be driven by impulsive behavior or their peers, said Rahn Minagawa, a clinical psychologist based in San Diego. So to toughen their punishment years later for things they did as adolescents “is just inherently unfair,” he said in arguing for the bill.

It would take a two-thirds vote by legislators to change the three-strikes law first approved by voters in 1994 and softened in a 2012 ballot measure to avoid imposing life sentences for minor crimes. But Democrats have that margin in the Legislature.

Gascón defeated the incumbent in the nation’s largest prosecutors’ office last year while running on a reform platform. But he since has faced blowback including legal actions from his own employees, public criticism from the state prosecutors’ association, and may be challenged with a recall election.

He has also criticized the broader adult three strikes law, saying it brings excessive and costly sentences without improving public safety.

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Smoke Shop Owners Vow Lawsuit After Fresno Passes Regulations

DON'T MISS

Fresno County to Honor Fallen Officers at Annual Memorial Ceremony

DON'T MISS

Wired Wednesday — FUSD Facing Four Lawsuits Including Nepotism and Incompetence

DON'T MISS

Kennedy Advises New Parents to ‘Do Your Own Research’ on Vaccines

DON'T MISS

FBI and Chilean Police Take Down International Gang of Thieves

DON'T MISS

Weak GDP Report Tied to Tariffs Has Trump Trying to Blame Biden on the State of the Economy

DON'T MISS

India Closes Airspace to Pakistan Airlines

DON'T MISS

Falling Oil Prices Poised for Biggest Monthly Decline Since 2021

DON'T MISS

California’s Multifamily Housing Production Costs Soar Above Other States

DON'T MISS

Walmart Reinstates Minimum Basket Fee for SNAP Orders

UP NEXT

Teoscar Hernandez, Andy Pages Lead 18-Hit Attack as Dodgers Beat Marlins

UP NEXT

Kamala Harris Plans a Speech Sharply Criticizing Donald Trump’s Policies

UP NEXT

‘Agreeing to Disagree’ Is Hurting Your Relationships – Here’s What to Do Instead

UP NEXT

California High-Speed Rail Leader Pushes State to Support Private Investment

UP NEXT

California Sent Investigators to ICE Facilities. They Found More Detainees, and Health Care Gaps

UP NEXT

How are Fresno County, Valley Prosecutors Using Prop 36 in Drug and Theft Cases?

UP NEXT

California City Councilmember Charged in Hazardous Waste Transport Conspiracy

UP NEXT

Federal Judge Restricts Border Patrol Warrantless Arrests in California District

UP NEXT

Take It Down Act Passes, Targets Deepfakes and Revenge Porn

UP NEXT

How the State Sent Californians’ Personal Health Data to LinkedIn

Kennedy Advises New Parents to ‘Do Your Own Research’ on Vaccines

41 minutes ago

FBI and Chilean Police Take Down International Gang of Thieves

45 minutes ago

Weak GDP Report Tied to Tariffs Has Trump Trying to Blame Biden on the State of the Economy

1 hour ago

India Closes Airspace to Pakistan Airlines

1 hour ago

Falling Oil Prices Poised for Biggest Monthly Decline Since 2021

1 hour ago

California’s Multifamily Housing Production Costs Soar Above Other States

2 hours ago

Walmart Reinstates Minimum Basket Fee for SNAP Orders

2 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day Sought for Lewd Acts with a Child

3 hours ago

China to Lift Sanctions on Members of European Parliament

3 hours ago

I Can’t Believe Anyone Thinks Trump Actually Cares About Antisemitism

3 hours ago

Smoke Shop Owners Vow Lawsuit After Fresno Passes Regulations

An association representing smoke shop owners plans to file a lawsuit after the Fresno City Council approved regulations that could drastica...

3 minutes ago

3 minutes ago

Smoke Shop Owners Vow Lawsuit After Fresno Passes Regulations

24 minutes ago

Fresno County to Honor Fallen Officers at Annual Memorial Ceremony

29 minutes ago

Wired Wednesday — FUSD Facing Four Lawsuits Including Nepotism and Incompetence

From Left, National Institutes of Health (NIH) Director Jayanta Bhattacharya, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Marty Makary, during a news conference at the Health and Human Services Department in Washington, April 22, 2025. In an interview with Dr. Phil, the health secretary offered false information about vaccine oversight and revealed a lack of basic understanding of new drug approvals. (Al Drago/The New York Times)
41 minutes ago

Kennedy Advises New Parents to ‘Do Your Own Research’ on Vaccines

Johnny Fica, head of the police's money and asset laundering division, speaks during a press conference in Santiago, Chile, April 30, 2025. (Chilean Police/Handout via Reuters)
45 minutes ago

FBI and Chilean Police Take Down International Gang of Thieves

1 hour ago

Weak GDP Report Tied to Tariffs Has Trump Trying to Blame Biden on the State of the Economy

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) passenger plane sits on tarmac, as seen through a plane window, at the Islamabad International Airport, Islamabad, Pakistan October 27, 2024. (REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro//File Photo)
1 hour ago

India Closes Airspace to Pakistan Airlines

An aerial view shows a crude oil tanker at an oil terminal off Waidiao island in Zhoushan, Zhejiang province, China (January 4, 2023/File Photo)
1 hour ago

Falling Oil Prices Poised for Biggest Monthly Decline Since 2021

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend