D.A.s Are Asking Biden to End the Death Penalty. But Some Are Still Wielding It Themselves Prosecutors who have championed criminal justice reforms are still seeking death sentences, opposing appeals, and, in some cases, have even petitioned for execution dates. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
The Successes and Shortcomings of Larry Krasner’s Trailblazing First Term Philadelphia’s top prosecutor has made good on promises to reduce incarceration in the city. His re-election bid will be a litmus test for the progressive prosecutor movement he helped start. Joshua Vaughn
How Chesa Boudin Is Pursuing His Promise to Reduce Incarceration After more than a year in office—and despite pushback—the San Francisco DA’s policies have kept people out of jails and prisons. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
California Prosecutors’ Association Reveals More Public Money May Have Been Misspent New evidence suggests more accounting troubles for the CDAA. Jerry Iannelli
California’s D.A. Association Misspent $3 million. Environmental Groups Want it Repaid A coalition of environmental groups urges the legislature to force the repayment and dissociate from the CDAA. Jerry Iannelli
COVID-19 is Spreading Faster Than Ever. Jail Populations are Surging, Too In many of America’s major cities, the early efforts to reduce incarceration during the pandemic have been reversed. Jerry Iannelli
The California District Attorneys Association Is Failing Californians After years of misappropriating millions of dollars, opposing criminal justice reform, and ignoring the will of voters, the CDAA must be held to account by the governor and the attorney general. Sydney Kamlager
The Prosecutors’ Union That’s Suing George Gascón Has A History Of Zealous Opposition To Reform A look at the organization’s past actions suggests that this lawsuit is part of a longstanding pattern of ideologically motivated advocacy and commitment to tough-on-crime policies, rather than a show of blind allegiance to the law. Piper French
As Support For The Death Penalty Plummets, The Trump Administration Embraces Executions While bans on capital punishment progress at the state level, the federal government is racing to carry out three more executions before President Trump's term end. Ten people have been put to death since July, the first such executions since 2003. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
Newly Elected Los Angeles DA Will End Cash Bail in Nation’s Largest Prosecutor Office On his first day in office, George Gascón said prosecutors will not seek bail starting Jan. 1, a win for criminal justice reformers. Eliyahu Kamisher
Law Enforcement Reformers Sweep Major Races In Los Angeles County Candidates promising to remake Southern California’s legal system, won major races for DA, county supervisor, and City Council, among others while overcoming significant spending by pro-law enforcement groups. Jerry Iannelli
George Gascón Wins Race for Los Angeles D.A. in Major Victory for Progressive Prosecutor Movement Los Angeles County, with the country’s largest jail system and largest local prosecutor office, is considered a crown jewel in a nationwide push for criminal justice reform. Eliyahu Kamisher
Los Angeles D.A. Candidates Spar on Police Shootings, Death Penalty DA Jackie Lacey and challenger George Gascón outlined diverging visions for the top prosecutor’s office in the nation’s most populous county. Kira Lerner
California Prison Guard Union Responsible for ‘Bullseye’ Ad Donates $1 Million to Jackie Lacey’s Re-election Campaign Late-stage donations to the Los Angeles DA race increase concerns about the influence of law enforcement money on politics. Piper French
LAPD Officer Who Killed Man in Mental Health Crisis Is a Gun-Toting Social Media Star In late April, officer Toni McBride shot Daniel Hernandez to death after a suicide call. His attorney and grieving family say videos posted on social media of McBride gleefully firing high-powered weapons show that she’s a trigger-happy officer. Jerry Iannelli
California D.A.s Call For Ban on Police Union Money and Endorsements in Prosecutorial Elections San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin and others say the money creates ethical conflicts when police are prosecuted for misconduct. Eliyahu Kamisher
Jackie Lacey Met Her Progressive Challengers On Stage For The First Time, And It Was Explosive A fiery debate outlined what’s at stake in the race to lead the largest prosecutor’s office in the country. Eliyahu Kamisher
Jackie Lacey’s Culture Of Fear Lack of evidence does not stop opponents of former San Francisco DA George Gascón from making the claim that the city’s criminal justice reforms unleashed a crime wave. Alex Sherman
New San Francisco D.A. Inherits Chance To Hold Police Accountable In Shooting Of Man With Mental Illness Activists hope Chesa Boudin will press charges, and push for systemic changes to address the criminalization of mental illness. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
LA Police Union Contributes $1 Million To Anti-George Gascón PAC The influx of cash shows the police union’s determination to stop the reform-minded district attorney candidate. Eliyahu Kamisher
Los Angeles County D.A. Jackie Lacey Skipped The First Democratic Debate of the Race After two terms at the helm of the nation’s largest prosecutor office, Lacey has drawn pointed criticism from community advocates who say she is standing in the way of criminal justice reform. Aaron Morrison
Los Angeles County Democratic Party Endorses George Gascón for District Attorney The former San Francisco DA got the nod over incumbent Jackie Lacey, whose tenure advocates and activists have long criticized as lackluster. Jessica Pishko
How District Attorney Jackie Lacey Failed Los Angeles On a host of issues—including police shootings, bail reform, marijuana legalization, and the death penalty—critics say Lacey, once seen as a reformer, has sought to preserve the status quo. Jessica Pishko
Interim San Francisco D.A. Suzy Loftus is Running for Office as a Reformer. But Critics Say She Didn’t Do Enough to Reform the SFPD. Loftus led the San Francisco Police Commission through a bloody and turbulent era. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg
San Francisco Is Paying For Jamal Trulove’s Wrongful Conviction. Will Kamala Harris? Police and prosecutors framed a father of four in a 2007 murder case with local and national political implications. Kyle C. Barry
San Francisco Deputy Public Defender Chesa Boudin Announces Run for District Attorney In a wide-ranging interview, Boudin, a progressive reform candidate, told The Appeal he wants to redefine ‘public safety’ to encompass the rights of both victims and defendants. Melissa Gira Grant
San Francisco Officials Wanted to Close A Dilapidated Jail by 2019. So Why Is It Still Open? Everyone agrees the jail at 850 Bryant should close, but it’s not yet clear what would happen to those locked inside. Melissa Gira Grant
Could New Cash to Fight Homelessness in San Francisco Mean Less Reliance on Police? Supporters hope the passage of Prop C may herald a more compassionate—and effective—approach. Melissa Gira Grant
