In 2008, the People of the State of California passed the Victims’ Bill of Rights Act into law. It was a time when victims were more centered in our justice system. However imperfect, we strove to vindicate the rights of victims while upholding the rights of those accused of crimes.

I would have never guessed that 12 years later, I would stand on the steps of the Hall of Justice declaring that victims had become invisible in our community. We have witnessed a decade of “reform” that has removed victims from the equation and replaced them with their offenders.

We now have a criminal-centered justice system that has redefined the offender as the “victim.” It is a perverse brand of reform that does not value accountability, foster rehabilitation, or promote the restoration of victims of crime. The prevailing reforms promote a culture of chaos where what used to be wrong is now considered right.

The current Los Angeles District Attorney has repeatedly proven he lacks empathy for victims. Within weeks of taking office, he yelled out to a distraught mother of a murdered child, calling her uneducated. He ended a 40-year practice of sending deputy district attorneys to  hearings for killers, rapists, and child molesters. He shut down the unit that notified victims and surviving family members of upcoming hearings. He co-authored legislation that reduced penalties for thieves and weakened our drug court’s ability to foster drug treatment. He abandoned small business owners by reducing and, in many cases refusing to file cases against thieves who steal up to $950.00. He reassigned deputy district attorneys to review inmate requests for early release from their lawful sentences.

As District Attorney, I vow that victims of crime will be seen, heard, respected, and supported!