LA Times: Inside DAs justice revolution, a debate over what it is to be a crime victim
In Gascón’s expansive view, victims are not just those targeted by criminals. They are also Black and Latino defendants swept up by a criminal justice system that historically has mistreated communities of color. They are teenagers who have been dealt with as adults in court — even those accused of horrific crimes like the killing of Sierra Brown and her sister. And they are people wrongly killed or injured by police.
Gascón is trying to dismantle the approach his predecessors took to crime, in which they sought to punish defendants heavily on behalf of victims. In its place, he wants something more complicated — a criminal justice system that balances prison time with rehabilitation, consequences with mercy.
